CVE-2017-9835
The gs_alloc_ref_array function in psi/ialloc.c in Artifex Ghostscript 9.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted PostScript…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (2.79%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
The gs_alloc_ref_array function in psi/ialloc.c in Artifex Ghostscript 9.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted PostScript document. This is related to a lack of an integer overflow check in base/gsalloc.c.
- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 2.79% probability · 86th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-190
- Affected
- artifex/ghostscript · debian/debian linux
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 4.2% on 21 September 2026 to 2.8% on 27 October 2026.
References
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=cfde94be1d4286bc47633c6e6eaf4e659bd78066
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3986Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99991Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697985Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201811-12Third Party Advisory
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=cfde94be1d4286bc47633c6e6eaf4e659bd78066
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3986Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99991Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697985Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201811-12Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.