CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-16293 — Artifex Ghostscript security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 5.5

A null pointer dereference vulnerability in compose_group_nonknockout_nonblend_isolated_allmask_common() in base/gxblend.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file. This is fixed in v9.51.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Published
2020-08-13
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-476

Affected products

  • artifex / ghostscript
  • debian / debian_linux / 9.0
  • debian / debian_linux / 10.0
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 16.04
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 18.04
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 20.04

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.