Denial of service via out-of-bounds row read
Published Aug 1, 2023 · Updated Jun 23, 2026
Out-of-bounds read in Ghostscript on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 allows local users to crash gs by processing a crafted DEVN PDF. In devn_pcx_write_rle(), the loop advances the row pointer and dereferences it before confirming that it has not reached the buffer end. Exploitation requires local Ghostscript invocation on attacker-supplied content, and the bounded consequence is process termination.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds read in Ghostscript on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 allows local users to crash gs by processing a crafted DEVN PDF. In devn_pcx_write_rle(), the loop advances the row pointer and dereferences it before confirming that it has not reached the buffer end. Exploitation requires local Ghostscript invocation on attacker-supplied content, and the bounded consequence is process termination.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-38559
- Published
- Aug 1, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 23, 2026
- Vendor
- Red Hat
- Product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Classifications
- CWE-125, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 1, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Affected versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo