# CVE-2019-14869: Security feature bypass in ghostscript

> Attackers can bypass Ghostscript's -dSAFER restrictions via crafted PostScript files to execute commands or access restricted files.

- **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:** 15 Nov 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-14869, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-14869, DLA-1992-1, DSA-4569-1, GHSA-c87p-jj8p-c38g, MGASA-2019-0336, RHSA-2019:3888, RHSA-2019:3890, RHSA-2020:0222, SUSE-SU-2019:2981-1, SUSE-SU-2019:2983-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-14869, USN-4193-1, openSUSE-SU-2019:2534-1, openSUSE-SU-2019:2535-1

## What is CVE-2019-14869?

CVE-2019-14869 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 15 Nov 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 all versions of ghostscript 9.x before 9.50, where the `.charkeys` procedure, where it did not properly secure its privileged calls, enabling scripts to bypass `-dSAFER` restrictions. An attacker could abuse this flaw by creating a specially crafted PostScript file that could escalate privileges within the Ghostscript and access files outside of restricted areas or execute commands.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), CWE-648 (Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-14869?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `libgs-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.25-2.el7_7.3 |
| `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-gtk-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-x11-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `libgs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-gtk-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |
| `ghostscript-tools-dvipdf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.25-5.el8_1.1 |

Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Leap.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-14869?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-14869 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-14869 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-2019-14869 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-14869 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 15 Nov 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-2019-14869 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-2019-14869/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14869/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-14869
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-14869
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-14869

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14869/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.