# CVE-2020-21710: Denial of service in n/a > Remote attackers can cause a denial of service by tricking users into opening a crafted PDF file processed by GhostScript. - **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 22 Aug 2023 - **Updated:** 3 Oct 2024 - **Also known as:** ALSA-2024:2966, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-21710, GHSA-f3hj-4f92-87v9, RHSA-2024:2966, RLSA-2024:2966, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-21710 ## What is CVE-2020-21710? CVE-2020-21710 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 22 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description A divide by zero issue discovered in eps_print_page in gdevepsn.c in Artifex Software GhostScript 9.50 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via opening of crafted PDF file. Weakness: CWE-369 (Divide By Zero) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-21710? It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ghostscript` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-doc` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-dvipdf` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-fonts` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-printing` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-x11` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs-devel` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-gtk-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-x11` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-x11-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-gtk-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-dvipdf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-fonts` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-tools-printing` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript-x11-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `libgs-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | | `ghostscript` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:9.27-12.el8 | Products: Artifex Ghostscript. ## How do I fix CVE-2020-21710? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2020-21710 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-21710 exists. ## 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-2020-21710 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2020-21710 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 22 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-21710 exists. 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-2020-21710/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-21710/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-21710 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-21710 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-21710 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-21710/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.