{"id":"CVE-2016-7978","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2016-7978","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T22:18:56.225Z","title":"Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.","description":"Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.","published":"2017-05-23T04:29:02.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T00:53:53.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-416"],"affected":["artifex/ghostscript"],"epss":{"score":0.05527,"percentile":0.92771,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (5.53%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/05/15","tags":["Mailing List","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95336","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697179","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/05/15","tags":["Mailing List","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95336","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697179","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7978","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}