# CVE-2016-9601: Memory corruption in ghostscript

> A heap-based buffer overflow in Ghostscript's JBIG2 decoder allows attackers to cause a crash or potentially execute code via crafted documents.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Apr 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-9601, GHSA-vf87-jj8q-h556, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9601

## What is CVE-2016-9601?

CVE-2016-9601 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 23 Apr 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ghostscript before version 9.21 is vulnerable to a heap based buffer overflow that was found in the ghostscript jbig2_decode_gray_scale_image function which is used to decode halftone segments in a JBIG2 image. A document (PostScript or PDF) with an embedded, specially crafted, jbig2 image could trigger a segmentation fault in ghostscript.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer), CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9601?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Artifex Gpl Ghostscript, Artifex Jbig2dec, Debian Debian Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9601?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-9601 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9601 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2012-4875](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4875/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2010-1628](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1628/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2010-1869](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1869/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2013-6629](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6629/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9601 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9601 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 23 Apr 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9601 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9601/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9601/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9601
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9601
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9601

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9601/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.