# CVE-2023-28879: Memory corruption in n/a > A buffer overflow in Ghostscript's PostScript interpreter allows attackers to corrupt memory, potentially leading to code execution or denial of service. - **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:** 31 Mar 2023 - **Updated:** 14 Feb 2025 - **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2023-28879, CLSA-2025-1742923385, CLSA-2026-1792239264, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-28879, DLA-3381-1, DSA-5383-1, GHSA-6mcj-frmm-wmr5, MGASA-2023-0134, SUSE-SU-2023:1797-1, SUSE-SU-2023:1799-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-28879, USN-6017-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:12853-1 ## What is CVE-2023-28879? CVE-2023-28879 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 31 Mar 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.0, there is a buffer overflow leading to potential corruption of data internal to the PostScript interpreter, in base/sbcp.c. This affects BCPEncode, BCPDecode, TBCPEncode, and TBCPDecode. If the write buffer is filled to one byte less than full, and one then tries to write an escaped character, two bytes are written. Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-28879? It affects 2 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Manager Proxy 4.2 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:Manager Server 4.2 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 9 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | All versions | 9.52-23.51.1 | | `ghostscript` | openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 9.52-150000.164.1 | | `ghostscript` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 9.56.1-2.1 | Products: Artifex Ghostscript, Debian Debian Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2023-28879? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2023-28879 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-28879 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-2023-28879 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2023-28879 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript, published on 31 Mar 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-28879 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-2023-28879/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28879/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-28879 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28879 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-28879 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28879/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.