Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2009-0196

Heap-based buffer overflow in the big2_decode_symbol_dict function (jbig2_symbol_dict.c) in the JBIG2 decoding library (jbig2dec) in Ghostscript 8.64, and probably earlier versions, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file with a JBIG2 symbol dictionary segment with a large run length value.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2009-0196 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 1 product from ghostscript organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2009, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2009-04-16T15:12:57.343

Last Modified

2026-04-23T00:35:47.467

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 9.3 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-119

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	≤ 8.64	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	0	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	5.50	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	7.07	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.0.1	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.15	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.15.2	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.54	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.56	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.57	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.60	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.61	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.62	Yes
Application	ghostscript	ghostscript	8.63	Yes

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-04/msg00010.html ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-06/msg00003.html ([email protected])
http://osvdb.org/53492 Exploit ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/34292 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/34667 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/34729 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/34732 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/35416 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/35559 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/35569 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/secunia_research/2009-21/ Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201412-17.xml ([email protected])
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-262288-1 ([email protected])
http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2009-0060 ([email protected])
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2009:095 ([email protected])
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-0421.html ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/502586/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/502757/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34445 Patch ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022029 ([email protected])
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0983 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1708 ([email protected])
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=337747 Exploit ([email protected])
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10533 ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/757-1/ ([email protected])
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-April/msg00460.html ([email protected])
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-April/msg00461.html ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-04/msg00010.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-06/msg00003.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://osvdb.org/53492 Exploit (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/34292 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/34667 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/34729 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/34732 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35416 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35559 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35569 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/secunia_research/2009-21/ Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201412-17.xml (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-262288-1 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2009-0060 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2009:095 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-0421.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/502586/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/502757/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34445 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022029 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0983 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1708 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=337747 Exploit (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10533 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/757-1/ (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-April/msg00460.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-April/msg00461.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For ghostscript's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.