CVE-2017-8291

HIGHNVD 7.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

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. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
7.8
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 97%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

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
9.0(high)
EPSS
99.9%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

April 27, 2017

Last Modified

April 21, 2026

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated May 19, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. Patch available. Sources: redhat.
generic🟡 PoC Available

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

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41955/
generic

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

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201708-06
generic

1036453 – (CVE-2017-8291) VUL-0: CVE-2017-8291: ghostscript,ghostscript-library: Artifex Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remotecommand execution via a "/Ou...

https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1036453
redhat Patch Available

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
generic

697808 – %pipe% security issue

https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697808
generic
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98476
generic

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

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

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

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

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibgs9-common (9.19~dfsg+1-0ubuntu7.2) @ zesty2026-07-16ubuntu
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.

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 135× in last 7d / 580× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. 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. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 940 total refreshes for this CVE.

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

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-41955✓ verified
    First seen May 2, 2017

    Ghostscript 9.21 - Type Confusion Arbitrary Command Execution (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/unix/fileformat/ghostscript_type_confusion✓ verified
    First seen Apr 27, 2017

    Ghostscript Type Confusion Arbitrary Command Execution

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2017-8291?
CVE-2017-8291 is a high vulnerability 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 disclosed?
CVE-2017-8291 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 27, 2017, with the most recent update on April 21, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
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 patching attention.
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.
Which products are affected by CVE-2017-8291?
CVE-2017-8291 affects Artifex Ghostscript. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2017-8291?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2017-8291, 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.

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