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GhostscriptApplication

CVE-2009-0583

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-03-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.64 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple integer overflows in icc.c in the International Color Consortium (ICC) Format library (aka icclib), as used in Ghostscript 8.64 and earlier and Argyll Color Management System (CMS) 1.0.3 and earlier, allow context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code by using a device file for a translation request that operates on a crafted image file and targets a certain "native color space," related to an ICC profile in a (1) PostScript or (2) PDF file with embedded images.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Multiple integer overflows in icc.c in the ICC Format library (icclib), as used by Ghostscript 8.64 and earlier and Argyll CMS 1.0.3 and earlier, allow heap-based buffer overflows when parsing crafted ICC profiles embedded in PostScript or PDF image files targeting certain native color spaces, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Ghostscript 8.65+ and Argyll CMS 1.0.4+, or apply vendor patches for icclib to address integer overflows in ICC profile parsing. Sandbox or restrict processing of untrusted PostScript/PDF files with embedded images until patches are applied.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
GhostscriptApplication
Affected:<= 8.64= 5.50= 7.05= 7.07= 8.0.1= 8.15= 8.15.2= 8.54= 8.56= 8.57= 8.61= 8.62
ArgyllcmsApplication
Affected:<= 1.0.3= 0.1.0= 0.2.0= 0.2.1= 0.2.2= 0.3.0= 0.6.0= 0.7.0= 1.0.0= 1.0.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Ghostscript version
    Run 'gs --version' or check the installed Ghostscript package version
    Affected if The version is 8.64 or earlier, or matches one of the affected versions: 5.50, 7.05, 7.07, 8.0.1, 8.15, 8.15.2, 8.54, 8.56, 8.57, 8.61, 8.62
  2. Check Argyll CMS version
    Run 'arc' or 'tiff2icc --version' if available, or check the installed Argyll CMS package version
    Affected if The version is 1.0.3 or earlier, or matches one of the affected versions: 0.1.0, 0.2.0, 0.2.1, 0.2.2, 0.3.0, 0.6.0, 0.7.0, 1.0.0, 1.0.2
  3. Identify if ICC profile processing is used
    Search for PDF or PostScript files processed by Ghostscript, or ICC profile conversion tasks run via Argyll CMS tools like 'tiff2icc', 'icclib' utilities, or 'cmm'
    Affected if Ghostscript or Argyll CMS is used to parse ICC profiles from untrusted PostScript or PDF image files targeting native color spaces
  4. Locate the icc.c component
    Check for the presence of the icclib library or source code if bundled in a custom application, and identify if it handles ICC profile parsing
    Affected if A custom application bundles icclib version affected by the integer overflows in icc.c and processes ICC profiles

Your environment is affected if Ghostscript version 8.64 or earlier, or Argyll CMS version 1.0.3 or earlier (or any of the specific listed versions) is installed and used to parse ICC profiles from PostScript or PDF files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.64
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Ghostscript 8.65+ and Argyll CMS 1.0.4+, or apply vendor patches for icclib to address integer overflows in ICC profile parsing. Sandbox or restrict processing of untrusted PostScript/PDF files with embedded images until patches are applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Ghostscript 8.70+ or latest stable; Argyll CMS 1.1.0+ or latest stable

  1. 1. Identify which affected product (Ghostscript or Argyll CMS) is in use in your environment
  2. 2. For Ghostscript: Check current version with 'gs --version' or 'gs -v'
  3. 3. For Argyll CMS: Check current version with 'spotread -v' or 'applycal -v' or consult the installed package
  4. 4. Upgrade Ghostscript to version 8.70 or later (the first stable release after 8.64 that addressed this vulnerability)
  5. 5. Upgrade Argyll CMS to version 1.1.0 or later (the first stable release after 1.0.3 that addressed this vulnerability)
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version number
  7. 7. Test that PostScript/PDF processing with embedded ICC profiles works correctly with the new version
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a security upgrade; ensure any custom color management workflows are tested

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ghostscript Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0583 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data