#VU77939 OS Command Injection in Ghostscript - CVE-2023-36664

Vulnerability identifier: #VU77939

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 7.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-36664

CWE-ID: CWE-78

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 attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation for pipe devices (with the %pipe% prefix or the | pipe character prefix). A remote attacker can trick the victim to open a specially crafted PDF file and execute arbitrary OS commands on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Ghostscript: 9.00 - 10.01.1

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External links
https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;a=commit;h=0974e4f2ac0005d3731e0b5c13ebc7e965540f4d
https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=706761
https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;a=commit;h=505eab7782b429017eb434b2b95120855f2b0e3c
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5446
https://www.kroll.com/en/insights/publications/cyber/ghostscript-cve-2023-36664-remote-code-execution-vulnerability

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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?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.