Is CVE-2020-36773 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2020-36773 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2020-36773 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2020-36773 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36773?

CVE-2020-36773 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-36773

CRITICAL

CVE-2020-36773

CWE-416Published: February 4, 2024· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

Artifex Ghostscript before 9.53.0 has an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free in devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c (for txtwrite) because a single character code in a PDF document can map to more than one Unicode code point (e.g., for a ligature).

NVD Source

Risk Analysis

Artifex Ghostscript is affected by an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free vulnerability when processing specific PDF character codes. This critical flaw is rated 9.8 on the CVSS scale.

No public exploit is known, and it is not in the KEV catalog. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable with low complexity.

Recommended Action

Upgrade Ghostscript to version 9.53.0 or higher.

Generated by the CTIWATCH analysis pipeline from this CVE's metadata (CVSS, EPSS, KEV status, exploit intelligence). Verify against vendor advisories before acting.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-36773 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-416): Use-after-free vulnerabilities involve accessing memory after it has been freed, often enabling arbitrary code execution.