CVE-2016-7977
Ghostscript before 9.21 might allow remote attackers to bypass the SAFER mode protection mechanism and consequently read arbitrary files via the use of the .libfile operator in a crafted postscript document.
Does this matter?
Lower severity and a low EPSS score (4.57%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.
Description
Ghostscript before 9.21 might allow remote attackers to bypass the SAFER mode protection mechanism and consequently read arbitrary files via the use of the .libfile operator in a crafted postscript document.
- CVSS 3.0
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- EPSS
- 4.57% probability · 92th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-200
- Affected
- artifex/ghostscript
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 6.5% on 21 September 2026 to 4.6% on 27 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
References
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=8abd22010eb4db0fb1b10e430d5f5d83e015ef70
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0014.html
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/09/29/28Mailing List, Patch
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/05/15Mailing List, Patch
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95334Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697169Issue Tracking, Patch
- https://ghostscript.com/doc/9.21/History9.htmRelease Notes
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=8abd22010eb4db0fb1b10e430d5f5d83e015ef70
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0014.html
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/09/29/28Mailing List, Patch
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/05/15Mailing List, Patch
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95334Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697169Issue Tracking, Patch
- https://ghostscript.com/doc/9.21/History9.htmRelease Notes
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.