CVE-2023-4042

Interpreter crash via out-of-bounds PCX access

Published Aug 23, 2023 · Updated Nov 21, 2025

Out-of-bounds access in Ghostscript before 9.27-11.el8 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 allows local users to cause a crash via a crafted PDF. The pcx_write_rle routine evaluates an array element before its bounds condition, permitting an out-of-bounds access while encoding PCX run-length data. A user must induce Ghostscript to process the document; the incomplete RHEL backport leaves availability at risk without reported confidentiality or integrity impact.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds access in Ghostscript before 9.27-11.el8 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 allows local users to cause a crash via a crafted PDF. The pcx_write_rle routine evaluates an array element before its bounds condition, permitting an out-of-bounds access while encoding PCX run-length data. A user must induce Ghostscript to process the document; the incomplete RHEL backport leaves availability at risk without reported confidentiality or integrity impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-4042
Published
Aug 23, 2023
Updated
Nov 21, 2025
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Classifications
CWE-125, CWE-787, T1499.004, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 23, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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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?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Affected versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red Hat, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation
T1204.002Malicious File

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

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Your stack

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