CVE-2017-8291

CRITICALNVD 7.89.0
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

“▲” beside the score: it is higher than NVD's CVSS score.

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-24), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. The 9.0 is the floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: this CVE's impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH under GitHub Security Advisory CVSS. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low or medium mission impact
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 97%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified)Exposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

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.

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
75
EG Risk 75/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity78% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 7.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation100% × 40%
Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.
EPSS PROB
97%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
⚠ Exploited

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (9.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.0 is the CISA KEV floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: its impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH.

EG Severity
7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
EG Likelihood
97% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-22). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
CISA KEV and EG-KEV Tier 1 (exploited in the wild)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Attend at medium mission impactTrack at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.CISA BOD 26-04: 3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.Each input and its source: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.

Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.

In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

CISA required action“Apply updates per vendor instructions.”

Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8291

Published

April 27, 2017

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (9)

Auto-updated Oct 19, 2026
⚠️ Actively exploited (CISA KEV, CISA Vulnrichment). Patch available. Sources: redhat.
Web page

Ghostscript 9.21 - Type Confusion Arbitrary Command Execution (Metasploit) - Linux local Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41955/
Web page

GPL Ghostscript: Multiple vulnerabilities (GLSA 201708-06) — Gentoo security

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201708-06
Web page

Making sure you're not a bot!

https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1036453
Red HatMentions a patch (unverified)

1446063 – (CVE-2017-8291) CVE-2017-8291 ghostscript: corruption of operand stack

Affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1446063
Web page

697808 – %pipe% security issue

https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697808
Red HatMentions a patch (unverified)

Affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1230
Web page

CVE-2017-8291 - PSIRT.COM

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98476
Web page

[SECURITY] [DSA 3838-1] ghostscript security update

http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3838
Web page

oss-security - Re: CVE-2017-8291 ghostscript remote code execution

http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/04/28/2

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibgs9-common (9.19~dfsg+1-0ubuntu6.4) @ yakkety2026-10-22ubuntu
redhatghostscript-0:9.07-20.el7_3.52017-05-12redhat

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.

Affected Packages

(28 across 28 ecosystems)
Alpine:v3.10(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.15(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.16(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.17(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.18(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.19(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.2(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r0: fixed in 9.21-r0
—
Alpine:v3.20(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.21(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.22(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.23(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.3(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r0: fixed in 9.21-r0
—
Alpine:v3.4(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r0: fixed in 9.21-r0
—
Alpine:v3.5(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r0: fixed in 9.21-r0
—
Alpine:v3.6(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.7(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.8(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Alpine:v3.9(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.21-r2: fixed in 9.21-r2
—
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.20~dfsg-3.1: fixed in 9.20~dfsg-3.1
—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.20~dfsg-3.1: fixed in 9.20~dfsg-3.1
—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.20~dfsg-3.1: fixed in 9.20~dfsg-3.1
—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.20~dfsg-3.1: fixed in 9.20~dfsg-3.1
—
Debian:7(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript9.05~dfsg-6.3 ... 9.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u5 (6 versions)
  • every version up to 9.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u6: fixed in 9.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u6
—
Debian:8(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript9.06~dfsg-2, 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u1, 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u2, 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u3, 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u4
  • every version up to 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u5: fixed in 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u5
—

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(2)

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.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 19× in last 7d / 276× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 1,813 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 1,713 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-10-22 20:20 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-22 20:20 UTCVendor advisory
  3. 2026-10-22 20:20 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  4. 2026-10-21 18:56 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-21 18:56 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-10-21 18:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  7. 2026-10-21 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 97% · 99th percentile
  8. 2026-10-20 17:34 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-20 17:34 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-10-20 17:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  11. 2026-10-19 16:10 UTCEG score recompute
  12. 2026-10-19 16:10 UTCVendor advisory
  13. 2026-10-19 16:10 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  14. 2026-10-18 14:45 UTCVendor advisory
  15. 2026-10-18 14:45 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  16. 2026-10-18 10:27 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-17 13:21 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-10-17 13:21 UTCVendor advisory
  19. 2026-10-17 13:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  20. 2026-10-16 11:59 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-10-16 11:59 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-10-16 11:58 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  23. 2026-10-15 10:35 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-10-15 10:35 UTCVendor advisory
  25. 2026-10-15 10:34 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-10-14 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 97% · 99th percentile
  2. 2026-10-14 09:08 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-10-14 09:08 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-10-14 09:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  5. 2026-10-13 07:45 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-10-13 07:45 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  7. 2026-10-12 20:25 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-10-12 06:23 UTCVendor advisory
  9. 2026-10-12 06:22 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  10. 2026-10-12 02:30 UTCVendor advisory
  11. 2026-10-12 02:30 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  12. 2026-10-11 22:38 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-10-11 22:38 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-10-11 22:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  15. 2026-10-11 18:46 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-10-11 18:46 UTCVendor advisory
  17. 2026-10-11 18:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  18. 2026-10-11 14:51 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-10-11 14:51 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-10-11 14:51 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  21. 2026-10-11 10:59 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-10-11 10:59 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  23. 2026-10-11 07:08 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-10-11 07:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  25. 2026-10-11 03:16 UTCVendor advisory
  26. 2026-10-11 03:15 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  27. 2026-10-10 23:23 UTCVendor advisory
  28. 2026-10-10 23:23 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  29. 2026-10-10 19:31 UTCVendor advisory
  30. 2026-10-10 19:31 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  31. 2026-10-10 15:39 UTCVendor advisory
  32. 2026-10-10 15:39 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  33. 2026-10-10 11:46 UTCVendor advisory
  34. 2026-10-10 11:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  35. 2026-10-10 07:55 UTCVendor advisory
  36. 2026-10-10 07:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  37. 2026-10-10 04:02 UTCVendor advisory
  38. 2026-10-10 04:02 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  39. 2026-10-10 00:11 UTCVendor advisory
  40. 2026-10-10 00:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  41. 2026-10-09 20:18 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-10-09 20:18 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  43. 2026-10-09 16:27 UTCVendor advisory
  44. 2026-10-09 16:27 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  45. 2026-10-09 12:35 UTCVendor advisory
  46. 2026-10-09 12:35 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  47. 2026-10-09 08:44 UTCVendor advisory
  48. 2026-10-09 08:43 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  49. 2026-10-09 04:49 UTCVendor advisory
  50. 2026-10-09 04:49 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  51. 2026-10-09 00:57 UTCVendor advisory
  52. 2026-10-09 00:57 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  53. 2026-10-08 21:06 UTCVendor advisory
  54. 2026-10-08 21:06 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  55. 2026-10-08 17:15 UTCVendor advisory
  56. 2026-10-08 17:15 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  57. 2026-10-08 13:24 UTCVendor advisory
  58. 2026-10-08 13:23 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  59. 2026-10-08 09:26 UTCVendor advisory
  60. 2026-10-08 09:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  61. 2026-10-08 05:34 UTCVendor advisory
  62. 2026-10-08 05:34 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  63. 2026-10-08 01:43 UTCVendor advisory
  64. 2026-10-08 01:43 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  65. 2026-10-07 21:51 UTCVendor advisory
  66. 2026-10-07 21:51 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  67. 2026-10-07 18:00 UTCVendor advisory
  68. 2026-10-07 18:00 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  69. 2026-10-07 14:09 UTCVendor advisory
  70. 2026-10-07 14:09 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  71. 2026-10-07 10:16 UTCVendor advisory
  72. 2026-10-07 10:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  73. 2026-10-07 06:23 UTCVendor advisory
  74. 2026-10-07 06:23 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rh88-cwv2-gjxm · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
  75. 2026-10-07 02:32 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-41955✓ verified
    Published May 2, 2017

    Ghostscript 9.21 - Type Confusion Arbitrary Command Execution (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/unix/fileformat/ghostscript_type_confusion✓ verified
    Published May 1, 2017

    Ghostscript Type Confusion Arbitrary Command Execution

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2017-8291?
CVE-2017-8291 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on April 27, 2017. 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.
When was CVE-2017-8291 made public?
CVE-2017-8291 was made public on April 26, 2017: that is the date its CVE record's CNA, MITRE Corporation, gives for when the vulnerability was made public. The CVE record itself was published on April 27, 2017. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of June 17, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2017-8291 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2017-8291 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 24, 2022, affecting Artifex Ghostscript. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is available. Apply it.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-8291?
CVE-2017-8291 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0 (CRITICAL).
Which products are affected by CVE-2017-8291?
CVE-2017-8291 affects Artifex Ghostscript. The affected packages EchelonGraph has on record, with version ranges, are listed in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2017-8291?
A fix for CVE-2017-8291 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2017-8291

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