CVE-2023-28879
CWE-787Published: March 31, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
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.
Risk Analysis
Artifex Ghostscript contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the PostScript interpreter that can lead to data corruption. Given the 9.8 CVSS score, this flaw poses a significant risk as it is remotely exploitable.
There is no known public exploit for this issue, and it is not in the CISA KEV. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable with low attack complexity.
Users should update Ghostscript to a patched version and apply relevant security updates provided by their Linux distribution, such as Debian.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2023-28879 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-787): Out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities can lead to data corruption, crashes, or arbitrary code execution.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (20)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-787)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2023-28879 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts