#VU6546 Type confusion in Ghostscript - CVE-2017-8291

Vulnerability identifier: #VU6546

Vulnerability risk: Critical

CVSSv4.0: 9.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Red]

CVE-ID: CVE-2017-8291

CWE-ID: CWE-704

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
Ghostscript
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Artifex Software, Inc.

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on a targeted system.

The weakness exists due to type confusion error when processing user-supplied parameters passed to the .rsdparams and .eqproc functions in ghostscript. A remote attacker can submit a specially crafted .eps document, execute code in the context of the ghostscript process and bypass -dSAFER protection.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may result in system compromise.

Note: this vulnerability is being exploited in the wild.

Mitigation
Ghostscript 9.21 through 2017-04-26 is vulnerable. Older versions may also be affected.

Vulnerable software versions

Ghostscript: 9.21

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External links
https://seclists.org/oss-sec/2017/q2/155
https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697799
https://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/unix/fileformat/ghostscript_type_confusion

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

Yes. This vulnerability is being exploited in the wild.