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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2017-8291

Artifex Ghostscript Type Confusion Vulnerability

Published Apr 26, 2017 · catalog updated Jun 16, 2026 · Artifex Ghostscript

Patch now

CVE-2017-8291 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jun 14, 2022. Confirm Artifex Ghostscript against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Severity
High7.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
96.97%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe artifex/ghostscript · cpe debian/debian linux · cpe redhat/enterprise linux desktop · cpe redhat/enterprise linux eus · vendor Artifex Ghostscript

Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile (%pipe%" substring in a crafted .eps document that is an input to the gs program, as exploited in the wild in April 2017.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe artifex/ghostscriptversion unspecified
  • cpe debian/debian linux8.0
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux desktop6.0
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux desktop7.0
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux eus7.3
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux eus7.4
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux eus7.5
  • cpe redhat/enterprise linux eus7.6
  • vendor Artifex Ghostscriptversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2017-8291

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2017-8291 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jun 14, 2022. Confirm Artifex Ghostscript against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with debian/debian linux 8.0; redhat/enterprise linux desktop 6.0; redhat/enterprise linux desktop 7.0; redhat/enterprise linux eus 7.3. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-704; CWE-843: Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type (Type Confusion). EPSS 96.97%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. A public exploit reference is linked in Sources. That is not the same as confirmed exploitation. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Apr 26, 2017 · Catalog

    Detected

    Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile (%pipe%" substring in a crafted .eps document that is an input to the gs program, as exploited in the wild in April 2017.

  2. May 24, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  3. Jun 14, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  4. Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile (%pipe%" substring in a crafted .eps document that is an input to the gs program, as exploited in the wild in April 2017.

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2017-8291

    Artifex Ghostscript allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2017-8291

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2017-8291

    30-day exploitation probability 97.0%

    first.org
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference41955

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_unix/fileformat/ghostscript_type_confusion

    Public module reference (excellent). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

    rapid7.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2017-8291

    Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile (%pipe%" substring in a crafted .eps document that is an input to the gs program, as exploited in the wild in April 2017.

    nvd.nist.gov
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2017-8291

    Artifex Ghostscript allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile.

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.