Ghostscript before 9.21 might allow remote attackers to bypass the SAFER mode protection mechanism and consequently read arbitrary files via the use of the .libfile operator in a crafted postscript document.
CVE-2016-7977
MEDIUMNVD 5.55.5—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence
Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2022-05-14. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.
Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
5.5
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 5%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: NoneExposed: 0
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 5.5
- EG Score
- 5.5(medium)
- EPSS
- 90.5%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
May 23, 2017
Last Modified
May 13, 2026
References (22)
- cve@mitrehttp://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=8abd22010eb4db0fb1b10e430d5f5d83e015ef70
- cve@mitrehttp://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html
- cve@mitrehttp://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0014.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/09/29/28
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/05/15
- cve@mitrehttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95334
- cve@mitrehttps://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697169
- cve@mitrehttps://ghostscript.com/doc/9.21/History9.htm
- cve@mitrehttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201702-31
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=8abd22010eb4db0fb1b10e430d5f5d83e015ef70
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0013.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0014.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3691
Patch Availability(3)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | libgs9-common (9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.5) @ trusty | 2026-05-22 | ubuntu |
| redhat | ghostscript-0:8.70-21.el6_8.1 | 2017-01-04 | redhat |
| redhat | ghostscript-0:9.07-20.el7_3.1 | 2017-01-04 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
All Vendor Advisories
(3)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2016-7977?
CVE-2016-7977 is a medium vulnerability published on May 23, 2017. Ghostscript before 9.21 might allow remote attackers to bypass the SAFER mode protection mechanism and consequently read arbitrary files via the use of the .libfile operator in a crafted postscript document.
When was CVE-2016-7977 disclosed?
CVE-2016-7977 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 23, 2017, with the most recent update on May 13, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-7977 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-7977 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 90.5% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-7977?
CVE-2016-7977 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2016-7977?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2016-7977, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.
Dependency Blast Radius
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