# CVE-2019-14817: Security feature bypass in ghostscript

> Attackers can bypass -dSAFER restrictions in Ghostscript via crafted PostScript files to execute arbitrary commands or access the file system.

- **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 Sep 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-14817, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-14817, GHSA-f4cx-p6hx-chwv, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-14817

## What is CVE-2019-14817?

CVE-2019-14817 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 3 Sep 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in, ghostscript versions prior to 9.50, in the .pdfexectoken and other procedures where it did not properly secure its privileged calls, enabling scripts to bypass `-dSAFER` restrictions. A specially crafted PostScript file could disable security protection and then have access to the file system, or execute arbitrary commands.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), CWE-648 (Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-14817?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Leap, Redhat Openshift Container Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-14817?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-14817 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-14817 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-2019-14817 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-14817 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 3 Sep 2019. 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-2019-14817 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-2019-14817/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14817/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-14817
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-14817
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-14817

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14817/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.