CVE-2020-16307: Null Pointer Dereference

Published Aug 13, 2020
·
Updated

A null pointer dereference vulnerability in devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c and psi/zbfont.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted postscript file. This is fixed in v9.51.

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/ghostscript<9.51
9.51
Artifex Ghostscript=9.50
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
Debian Debian Linux=10.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=20.04
debian/ghostscript
9.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u79.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u1110.0.0~dfsg-11+deb12u810.05.1~dfsg-1+deb13u110.07.0~dfsg-2

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/ghostscript to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 9.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u7Fixed in 9.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u11Fixed in 10.0.0~dfsg-11+deb12u8Fixed in 10.05.1~dfsg-1+deb13u1Fixed in 10.07.0~dfsg-2
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/ghostscript to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 9.51
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade Artifex Software GhostScript to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in v9.51
  4. Compensating control

    If immediate upgrade is not possible, mitigate the denial-of-service risk by restricting/isolating exposure to untrusted PostScript input (e.g., limit who can submit PostScript and process it in an isolated environment).

  5. Operational

    After upgrading GhostScript to v9.51, restart any services that run GhostScript to ensure the vulnerable code path is not used by existing processes.

Event History

Aug 13, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:09 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:09 AM
Description
Aug 19, 2020
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·01:13 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Feb 23, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·08:07 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·08:08 PM
Description
Mar 25, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·08:30 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID?

The vulnerability ID is CVE-2020-16307.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2020-16307?

The severity of CVE-2020-16307 is medium, with a severity value of 5.5.

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2020-16307?

The affected software versions are GhostScript v9.50 (Artifex Software), 9.27~dfsg-2+deb10u5, 9.27~dfsg-2+deb10u9, 9.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u6, 9.53.3~dfsg-7+deb11u5, 10.0.0~dfsg-11+deb12u2, 10.0.0~dfsg-11+deb12u1, 10.02.0~dfsg-2 (Debian), 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.18.04.13 (Ubuntu 18.04), and 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.2, 9.51~dfsg-1 (Ubuntu 20.04).

4

How does CVE-2020-16307 impact the software?

CVE-2020-16307 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service through a crafted postscript file.

5

How can I fix CVE-2020-16307?

CVE-2020-16307 is fixed in GhostScript v9.51 (Artifex Software). Users should update to this version or apply the respective patches provided by the software vendor (Red Hat, Debian, or Ubuntu).

Contact

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