# CVE-2019-3839: Security feature bypass in ghostscript > Attackers can bypass sandbox restrictions in Ghostscript via crafted PostScript files to access the file system outside intended constraints. - **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:** 16 May 2019 - **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2019-3839, DLA-1792-1, DSA-4442-1, GHSA-wxr2-p327-97jr, MGASA-2019-0188, RHSA-2019:1017, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-3839, USN-3970-1 ## What is CVE-2019-3839? CVE-2019-3839 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 16 May 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description It was found that in ghostscript some privileged operators remained accessible from various places after the CVE-2019-6116 fix. A specially crafted PostScript file could use this flaw in order to, for example, have access to the file system outside of the constrains imposed by -dSAFER. Ghostscript versions before 9.27 are vulnerable. Weakness: CWE-648 (Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-3839? It affects 6 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | | `ghostscript-gtk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:9.07-31.el7_6.11 | Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Leap, Redhat Enterprise Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2019-3839? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2019-3839 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3839 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-2019-3839 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2019-3839 is a high-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 16 May 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-2019-3839 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-2019-3839/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3839/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-3839 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3839 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-3839 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3839/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.