# CVE-2018-16863: Command injection in ghostscript > Attackers can execute arbitrary shell commands via crafted PostScript documents by bypassing Ghostscript's -dSAFER protection. - **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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:** 3 Dec 2018 - **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** GHSA-83g5-f7jm-c8fc, RHSA-2018:3761 ## What is CVE-2018-16863? CVE-2018-16863 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 3 Dec 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description It was found that RHSA-2018:2918 did not fully fix CVE-2018-16509. An attacker could possibly exploit another variant of the flaw and bypass the -dSAFER protection to, for example, execute arbitrary shell commands via a specially crafted PostScript document. This only affects ghostscript 9.07 as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), CWE-184 (Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16863? It affects 7 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.3 | Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Eus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation. ## How do I fix CVE-2018-16863? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2018-16863 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16863 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Artifex Ghostscript - [CVE-2017-8291](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8291/): Artifex Ghostscript Type Confusion (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2021-3781](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3781/): Command injection in ghostscript (critical 9.9) - [CVE-2025-27831](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27831/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2025-27832](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27832/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2025-27836](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27836/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16863 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2018-16863 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 3 Dec 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-2018-16863 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Artifex Ghostscript. 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-2018-16863/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16863/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16863 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16863 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16863 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16863/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.