The .sethalftone5 function in psi/zht2.c in Ghostscript before 9.21 allows remote…
Priority MEDIUM 40CWE-704Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 16 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-704 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
The .sethalftone5 function in psi/zht2.c in Ghostscript before 9.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted Postscript document that calls .sethalftone5 with an empty operand stack.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.03212 88th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 16 fixed, 2 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2017:0013 Released 2017-01-04 · Red Hat rating Moderateghostscript security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) ghostscript-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-cups-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) ghostscript-devel-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-doc-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-gtk-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) ghostscript-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-cups-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) ghostscript-devel-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-doc-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-gtk-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) ghostscript-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-9.07-20.el7_3.1.ppc, ghostscript-cups-9.07-20.el7_3.1 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) ghostscript-devel-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-doc-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-gtk-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) ghostscript-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-cups-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) ghostscript-devel-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-doc-9.07-20.el7_3.1, ghostscript-gtk-9.07-20.el7_3.1
- RHSA-2017:0014 Released 2017-01-04 · Red Hat rating Moderateghostscript security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) ghostscript-8.70-21.el6_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) ghostscript-devel-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-doc-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-gtk-8.70-21.el6_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) ghostscript-8.70-21.el6_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) ghostscript-devel-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-doc-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-gtk-8.70-21.el6_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) ghostscript-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-8.70-21.el6_8.1.ppc
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) ghostscript-devel-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-devel-8.70-21.el6_8.1.ppc, ghostscript-doc-8.70-21.el6_8.1 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) ghostscript-8.70-21.el6_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) ghostscript-devel-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-doc-8.70-21.el6_8.1, ghostscript-gtk-8.70-21.el6_8.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0014 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0013 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2016-8602
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-m22m-c5xc-v6jq
References
Patch 5
- [oss-security] 20161011 Re: CVE Request - multiple ghostscript -dSAFER sandbox problems
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697203
- https://ghostscript.com/doc/9.21/History9.htm
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1383940
- [oss-security] 20161011 Re: CVE Request - multiple ghostscript -dSAFER sandbox problems
More Artifex Ghostscript vulnerabilities
- TI-2017-05861 Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2021-02712 Improper input validation in ghostscript CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2023-13382 In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.0, there is a buffer overflow leading to potential… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-11841 An issue was discovered in Artifex Ghostscript before 9.24. CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
- TI-2024-19474 Artifex Ghostscript before 10.03.0 has a stack-based buffer overflow in the… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2020-14200 Buffer Overflow vulnerability in clj_media_size function in devices/gdevclj.c in Artifex… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
Sources
- CVE-2016-8602 · CVE Program
- CVE-2016-8602 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-m22m-c5xc-v6jq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2016-8602 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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