# CVE-2020-15900: Integer overflow in n/a > An integer underflow in Ghostscript's rsearch operator allows bypassing file access controls and potential memory corruption, requiring a patch. - **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 28 Jul 2020 - **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2020-15900, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-15900, GHSA-mwgq-j58h-pv6j, SUSE-SU-2020:2095-1, SUSE-SU-2020:2097-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15900, USN-4445-1, openSUSE-SU-2020:1142-1, openSUSE-SU-2020:1146-1 ## What is CVE-2020-15900? CVE-2020-15900 is a critical vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 28 Jul 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A memory corruption issue was found in Artifex Ghostscript 9.50 and 9.52. Use of a non-standard PostScript operator can allow overriding of file access controls. The 'rsearch' calculation for the 'post' size resulted in a size that was too large, and could underflow to max uint32_t. This was fixed in commit 5d499272b95a6b890a1397e11d20937de000d31b. Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-191 (Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-15900? It affects 3 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 5 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 | All versions | 9.52-3.32.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 8 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 9 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | All versions | 9.52-23.39.1 | | `ghostscript` | openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | All versions | 9.52-lp151.3.15.1 | | `ghostscript-mini` | openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | All versions | 9.52-lp151.3.15.1 | | `ghostscript` | openSUSE:Leap 15.2 | All versions | 9.52-lp152.2.4.1 | | `ghostscript-mini` | openSUSE:Leap 15.2 | All versions | 9.52-lp152.2.4.1 | Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Opensuse Leap. ## How do I fix CVE-2020-15900? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2020-15900 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15900 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-2020-15900 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2020-15900 is a critical vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 28 Jul 2020. 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-2020-15900 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-2020-15900/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15900/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15900 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15900 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-15900 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15900/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.