HIGH
ghostscript: various userparams allow %pipe% in paths, allowing remote shell
Published Aug 7, 2017
8.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 23.45%
Description
The PS Interpreter in Ghostscript 9.18 and 9.20 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted userparams.
Affected products
No data.
OR
- 9.18
- 9.20
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
ghostscript
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
ghostscript
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
ghostscript
Not affected
Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 2
ghostscript
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | ghostscript | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | ghostscript | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | ghostscript | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 2 | ghostscript | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
8.8 HIGH NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
User Interaction Required
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact High
Integrity Impact High
Availability Impact High
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
7.1 HIGH Red Hat
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
User Interaction Required
Scope Changed
Confidentiality Impact Low
Integrity Impact Low
Availability Impact Low
6.8 MEDIUM NVD
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Access Vector Network
Access Complexity Medium
Authentication None
Confidentiality Impact Partial
Integrity Impact Partial
Availability Impact Partial
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
23.45% 0.23453
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
EPSS probability 0.23453
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (32 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 23.45% (0.23453) | 97.73th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 23.45% (0.23453) | 97.69th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 25.41% (0.25415) | 97.90th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 6, 2026 | 23.45% (0.23453) | 97.64th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 5, 2026 | 25.41% (0.25415) | 97.86th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 23.45% (0.23453) | 97.62th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 25.41% (0.25415) | 97.84th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 24, 2026 | 23.45% (0.23453) | 97.61th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 25.41% (0.25415) | 97.84th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 23.36% (0.23355) | 97.49th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 14, 2026 | 68.07% (0.68070) | 98.62th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 46.83% (0.46832) | 97.61th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 48.41% (0.48410) | 97.67th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 1, 2026 | 49.65% (0.49650) | 97.76th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 4, 2026 | 48.41% (0.48410) | 97.65th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 1, 2026 | 49.65% (0.49650) | 97.73th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jan 14, 2026 | 48.41% (0.48410) | 97.64th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 2, 2025 | 75.66% (0.75657) | 98.87th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 68.95% (0.68955) | 98.52th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 75.92% (0.75921) | 98.58th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 19, 2025 | 68.95% (0.68955) | 98.50th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 63.83% (0.63829) | 98.26th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 17, 2024 | 2.45% (0.02451) | 89.70th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 18, 2023 | 3.58% (0.03578) | 90.38th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 17, 2023 | 3.51% (0.03512) | 90.21th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 8, 2023 | 3.31% (0.03313) | 89.88th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 27, 2023 | 3.66% (0.03662) | 90.28th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 5.10% (0.05096) | 91.66th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 5.94% (0.05941) | 90.54th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| May 4, 2022 | 5.94% (0.05941) | 89.69th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 5.79% (0.05786) | 89.47th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 5.79% (0.05786) | 77.28th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
Weaknesses (1)
References (10)
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=user/chrisl/ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6d444c273da5499a4cd72f21cb6d4c9a5256807d x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIAN
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/19/6 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95332 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-7976 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697178 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1382294 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7976
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7976
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=user/chrisl/ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6d444c273da5499a4cd72f21cb6d4c9a5256807d | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIAN | |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/19/6 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95332 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-7976 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697178 | x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1382294 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7976 | ||
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7976 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.
Sources
CVE.org / MITRE
Status PUBLISHED
Assigner mitre
Published Aug 7, 2017
Updated Aug 6, 2024
Reserved Sep 9, 2016
Link CVE-2016-7976
CISA Vulnrichment
Updated n/a