CVE-2020-16291

Name: CVE-2020-16291
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2020-08-13T03:15:12.993+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 2.26%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2020-16291 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. A buffer overflow vulnerability in contrib/gdevdj9.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.18 to v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file. This is fixed in v9.51.. EPSS estimates a 2.26% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A buffer overflow vulnerability in contrib/gdevdj9.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.18 to v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file. This is fixed in v9.51.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

2.26%

80.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-787

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Artifex	Ghostscript	>= 9.18, < 9.52
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

References

http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;h=4f73e8b4d578e69a17f452fa60d2130c5faaefd6Broken Link
https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=701787Exploit, Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/ghostpdl.git/commit/?id=4f73e8b4d578e69a17f452fa60d2130c5faaefd6Patch
https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/ghostpdl.git/tree/contrib/gdevdj9.c?h=ghostpdl-9.18#n824Product
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/08/msg00032.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202008-20Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4469-1/Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4748Third Party Advisory
http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Bh=4f73e8b4d578e69a17f452fa60d2130c5faaefd6Broken Link
https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=701787Exploit, Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/08/msg00032.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202008-20Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4469-1/Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4748Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Aug 13, 2020
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-16291?

How severe is CVE-2020-16291?

CVE-2020-16291 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 2.26% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-16291?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2020-16291?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST