Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessSubmit crafted PostScript to processing service
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DeliveryRendered by RHEL Ghostscript under -dSAFER
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ExploitTrigger unprotected .forceput in .charkeys
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ExecutionBypass SAFER sandbox restrictions
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ImpactRead files or execute commands as gs process
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Incorrect use of privileged APIs
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that an application or service process an attacker-supplied PostScript/EPS file using an affected RHEL Ghostscript build (the one produced by the 9.25-to-9.27 rebase, notably RHEL 8) while relying on -dSAFER as the protection boundary; the crafted file abuses the insufficiently protected .forceput in the .charkeys procedure to escape that sandbox. Limiting factors: the target must actually feed untrusted PostScript to Ghostscript (automated upload/print/conversion pipelines are the realistic exposure), and defenses depend on -dSAFER being the intended containment - systems that never process untrusted PostScript, or that run unaffected Ghostscript versions, are not exposed. Authentication is not required per the CVSS vector (PR:N). |
| Impact | This is a genuine but conditional priority rather than a drop-everything emergency. The input CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, base 7.3) frames it as a network, low-complexity, unauthenticated issue, which maps to the real-world pattern of server-side pipelines (print/conversion/upload services) automatically rendering attacker-supplied PostScript with Ghostscript under -dSAFER. The decisive risk factor is the nature of the bug: a regression that silently reintroduces CVE-2019-14869 because the fix was dropped during the RHEL 9.25-to-9.27 rebase, leaving .forceput in .charkeys unprotected and permitting a -dSAFER sandbox escape to file access and command execution - CWE-648. Several escalation signals are MISSING or neutral: no EPSS probability was supplied, there is no CISA KEV listing (no confirmed active exploitation), and no public exploit was provided (the referenced GitHub commit is the upstream FIX, not weaponized exploit code). One tension to verify: the vector asserts UI:N, but exploitation realistically depends on some component processing untrusted PostScript - risk concentrates in environments with automated document/image conversion, not in systems that never feed Ghostscript untrusted input. Also note the input impact metrics (C:L/I:L/A:L) look conservative for a description that explicitly allows command execution - see assessed vector below. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker submits a specially crafted PostScript/EPS file to a service that automatically renders it with the vulnerable RHEL Ghostscript build under -dSAFER - for example a web upload, document-conversion, or print pipeline. The file abuses the unprotected privileged .forceput operation in the .charkeys procedure to break out of the SAFER sandbox, reading files outside permitted paths or executing commands as the Ghostscript process user. No public exploit was identified at time of analysis, though the upstream fix commit exposes the vulnerable code path. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 20, 2026
Ghostscript as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8-and, per CPE data, RHEL 6, 7, 9, and 10-may allow an attacker to escape -dSAFER protections when it processes a crafted PostScript file, enabling file access outside permitted paths or command execution with the Ghostscript process's privileges. The root cause is that Red Hat's 9.25-to-9.27 rebase omitted the CVE-2019-14869 correction, leaving privileged .forceput operations in the .charkeys procedure insufficiently protected; the supplied CVSS base score is 7.3, while the independent assessment treats confidentiality and integrity impact as High (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L). No CISA KEV entry is present in the supplied data and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; practical risk is conditional on a service or pipeline actually processing untrusted PostScript/EPS with an affected RHEL build.
RemediationAI
Apply the Red Hat updated Ghostscript package for the affected RHEL release once Red Hat publishes the errata; the upstream fix is commit 485904772c5f0aa1140032746e5a0abfc40f4cef in Artifex ghostpdl (Resource/Init/gs_ttf.ps, https://github.com/ArtifexSoftware/ghostpdl/commit/485904772c5f0aa1140032746e5a0abfc40f4cef). Upstream fix available (PR/commit); released patched version not independently confirmed, so verify the exact fixed build via https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-112177 and https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555564 before relying on package version numbers. Until patched, do not feed untrusted PostScript/EPS to Ghostscript; disable or tightly restrict upload, print, preview, and document-conversion pipelines that invoke Ghostscript on attacker-controlled input, accepting the loss of that functionality as the trade-off. Because -dSAFER is the boundary being bypassed, do not rely on it alone: run Ghostscript as an unprivileged, confined user or container with a read-only filesystem and no unnecessary network access, though this can break legitimate file access and may require application-specific tuning.
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Ghostscript is a PostScript/PDF interpreter, and -dSAFER is its sandbox boundary intended to prevent untrusted documents from performing disallowed file or command operations. The .charkeys procedure in Resource/Init/gs_ttf.ps populates font character-key dictionaries using the internal .forceput operator; .forceput is privileged, so it must be carefully guarded against PostScript-level abuse. Red Hat's rebase from Ghostscript 9.25 to 9.27 omitted the CVE-2019-14869 correction, which maps to CWE-648 (Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs): the privileged .forceput path is insufficiently protected. An attacker able to supply a crafted PostScript/EPS file can abuse that path to bypass -dSAFER and read files outside allowed paths or execute commands as the Ghostscript process; the independent assessment vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L confirms no authentication requirement, but exploitation remains conditional on the target processing attacker-controlled PostScript with the affected RHEL build.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Unauthenticated via automated PostScript processing (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N); SAFER escape yields file read and command execution, so C:H/I:H, with A:L limited to the gs process.
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
DescriptionCVE.org
A flaw was found in Ghostscript as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. The correction for CVE-2019-14869 was omitted during the rebase from version 9.25 to 9.27, leaving privileged .forceput operations in the .charkeys procedure insufficiently protected. Processing a specially crafted PostScript file may allow an attacker to bypass -dSAFER restrictions and access files outside the permitted paths or execute commands with the permissions of the Ghostscript process.
Executive ViewAI
A sandbox-escape flaw in Red Hat's packaged Ghostscript leaves affected RHEL 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 systems exposed to unauthorized file access or command execution whenever an untrusted PostScript or EPS file is processed. The issue stems from an incomplete historical rebase and currently has no vendor-released fix, so any team relying on Ghostscript for document conversion, print spooling, or file ingestion is carrying unmitigated risk until Red Hat ships an update. Leadership should care because the exposure is concentrated in automated content pipelines - the exact places where outside files enter the environment - and remediation depends on engineering changes, not just patching.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: block or quarantine untrusted PostScript/EPS input at ingestion points; run Ghostscript conversions in isolated, low-privilege containers with read-only filesystems and no network egress; enforce SELinux/AppArmor confinement; disable ImageMagick and other delegates that shell out to Ghostscript for untrusted content; remove unnecessary Ghostscript-dependent packages and monitor vendor errata for a fixed build.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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EUVD-2026-104827
GHSA-4hx3-pq6p-jhg6
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB