Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2023-36664
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 · uneditedArtifex Ghostscript through 10.01.2 mishandles permission validation for pipe devices (with the %pipe% prefix or the | pipe character prefix).
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 · moderate confidenceGhostscript through 10.01.2 has a permission validation flaw affecting pipe devices accessed via the %pipe% prefix or | pipe character prefix, potentially allowing unauthorized command execution or bypass of security restrictions intended to limit pipe device functionality.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 11.0= 12.0
FedoraOperating system
= 37= 38<= 10.01.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check installed Ghostscript versionRun 'gs --version' or use package manager (dpkg -l ghostscript or rpm -q ghostscript)Affected if Version is 10.01.2 or lower (any version through 10.01.2)
-
Verify pipe device is accessibleRun 'gs -dNODISPLAY -dSAFER -c "(%pipe%echo test) run"' and observe if the command executesAffected if The pipe device executes commands without proper permission validation (should fail or be blocked on patched versions)
-
Inspect PostScript files for pipe device usageSearch for '%pipe%' or '|' prefix patterns in your PostScript files, for example: grep -r '%pipe%' /path/to/postscript/files or grep -r '| ' /path/to/postscript/filesAffected if Your Ghostscript processes handle PostScript files containing pipe device references like %pipe% or |command
-
Check if -dSAFER mode is relied upon for securityReview your Ghostscript invocation commands and scripts for -dSAFER flag usage, as this restriction is what the vulnerability bypassesAffected if Your workflows rely on -dSAFER to restrict command execution while processing untrusted PostScript input with pipe device access
You are affected if Ghostscript version is 10.01.2 or lower AND your environment processes PostScript content that uses pipe device functionality (%pipe% or | prefix), particularly when -dSAFER is intended to block such operations.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade to Ghostscript version 10.01.2 or later where the permission validation for pipe devices has been corrected; if pipe functionality is not required, consider disabling pipe device support in the configuration.
Ghostscript 10.02.0 or later (or distribution-specific security update containing the fix)
- 1. Check current Ghostscript version by running: gs --version
- 2. For Debian systems: Run 'apt-get update && apt-get install ghostscript' to install the latest available security update
- 3. For Fedora systems: Run 'dnf update ghostscript' to install the latest available security update
- 4. Verify the fix by running: gs --version (should show 10.02.0 or later)
- 5. Test that pipe functionality still works as expected with your workflows
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-36664 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-36664 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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