CVE-2025-27836
📋 TL;DR
A buffer overflow vulnerability in the BJ10V device driver in Ghostscript allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This affects systems using Ghostscript for processing PostScript or PDF files, particularly in document conversion services or printing workflows. The vulnerability is exploitable by processing malicious files.
💻 Affected Systems
- Artifex Ghostscript
📦 What is this software?
Ghostscript by Artifex
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with SYSTEM/root privileges leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Denial of service through application crashes, with potential for limited code execution in document processing contexts.
If Mitigated
Contained impact within sandboxed environments or with proper input validation, resulting in application crashes without system compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires processing a malicious PostScript or PDF file. No public exploit code is currently available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 10.05.0
Vendor Advisory: https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=708192
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Ghostscript 10.05.0 or later from https://www.ghostscript.com. 2. Stop all Ghostscript services. 3. Install the updated version. 4. Restart services and verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable BJ10V device
linuxRemove or disable the vulnerable BJ10V device driver to prevent exploitation.
mv /usr/share/ghostscript/10.04.0/lib/contrib/japanese/gdev10v.c /usr/share/ghostscript/10.04.0/lib/contrib/japanese/gdev10v.c.bak
Sandbox Ghostscript
linuxRun Ghostscript in a restricted environment with minimal privileges.
firejail --net=none --private ghostscript input.ps
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and file type checking for all Ghostscript inputs.
- Isolate Ghostscript processes using containerization or virtualization with no network access.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Ghostscript version with 'gs --version'. If version is below 10.05.0, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
gs --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, run 'gs --version' to confirm version is 10.05.0 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Ghostscript segmentation fault errors
- Unexpected process termination of gs processes
- Large or malformed PostScript/PDF file processing
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Ghostscript processes
- File uploads to document processing endpoints followed by process crashes
SIEM Query:
process_name:gs AND (event_id:1000 OR signal:SIGSEGV)