CVE-2018-16509

CRITICALNVD 7.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because EPSS predicts 92% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (99th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.

Triggered by: EPSS exploit prediction ≥85%
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 92%
  • Public exploit code is available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB (verified), epss top5pct, epss high, public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 92%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

An issue was discovered in Artifex Ghostscript before 9.24. Incorrect "restoration of privilege" checking during handling of /invalidaccess exceptions could be used by attackers able to supply crafted PostScript to execute code using the "pipe" instruction.

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
82
EG Risk 82/100CISA SSVC

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation93% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
CISA SSVC: Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
EPSS PROB
92%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
Not listed

CISA SSVCTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).

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

Exploitation public PoC (EG-KEV: weaponized) · Automatable unknown (not published for this CVE) · Technical impact partial (CVSS below 9.0). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table

Published

September 5, 2018

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

References (30)

Patch Availability(3)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibgs9-common (9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.13) @ trusty2026-05-23ubuntu
redhatghostscript-0:8.70-24.el6_10.22018-12-03redhat
redhatghostscript-0:9.07-29.el7_5.22018-10-16redhat

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

(6 across 6 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.25~dfsg-1: fixed in 9.25~dfsg-1
—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.25~dfsg-1: fixed in 9.25~dfsg-1
—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.25~dfsg-1: fixed in 9.25~dfsg-1
—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript—
  • every version up to 9.25~dfsg-1: fixed in 9.25~dfsg-1
—
Debian:8(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript9.06~dfsg-2 ... 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u7 (8 versions)
  • every version up to 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u8: fixed in 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u8
—
Debian:9(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
ghostscript9.20~dfsg-3.2, 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u1, 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u2, 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u3, 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u4
  • every version up to 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u5: fixed in 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u5
—

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.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 2× in last 7d / 10× 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.

  1. 2026-09-30 20:40 UTCOSV refresh
  2. 2026-09-30 09:55 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-09-24 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-23 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-09-21 20:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-09-18 19:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-16 05:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-09-12 02:53 UTCOSV refresh
  9. 2026-09-10 09:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-06 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-05 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-09-04 05:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-08-30 19:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-08-28 21:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-08-27 14:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-08-24 08:27 UTCOSV refresh
  17. 2026-08-21 23:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-08-15 01:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-08-08 16:32 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-08-08 04:49 UTCOSV refresh
  21. 2026-08-06 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-06 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-30 01:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-23 01:34 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-07-22 21:30 UTCEG score recompute▲ 1.20
Show 27 more
  1. 2026-07-22 21:30 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-07-22 21:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-15 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-13 22:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-12 19:08 UTCOSV refresh
  7. 2026-07-11 08:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-24 03:59 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-10 22:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-07 08:50 UTCOSV refresh
  15. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-05-23 02:36 UTCEG score recompute
  26. 2026-05-23 02:36 UTCVendor advisory
  27. 2026-05-23 02:36 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(4 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (2 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-45369✓ verified
    First seen Sep 10, 2018

    Ghostscript - Failed Restore Command Execution (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/multi/fileformat/ghostscript_failed_restore✓ verified
    First seen Aug 21, 2018

    Ghostscript Failed Restore Command Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCknqyf263/CVE-2018-16509
    First seen Nov 17, 2018

    CVE-2018-16509 (Ghostscript contains multiple -dSAFER sandbox bypass vulnerabilities)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCfarisv/PIL-RCE-Ghostscript-CVE-2018-16509
    First seen Oct 15, 2018

    PoC + Docker Environment for Python PIL/Pillow Remote Shell Command Execution via Ghostscript CVE-2018-16509

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same product + same vendor)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2018-16509?
CVE-2018-16509 is a critical vulnerability published on September 5, 2018. An issue was discovered in Artifex Ghostscript before 9.24. Incorrect "restoration of privilege" checking during handling of /invalidaccess exceptions could be used by attackers able to supply crafted PostScript to execute code using the "pipe" instruction.
When was CVE-2018-16509 disclosed?
CVE-2018-16509 was first published on September 5, 2018, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2018-16509 actively exploited?
CVE-2018-16509 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EchelonGraph's EG-KEV model classifies it as weaponized: a functional public exploit exists. FIRST EPSS estimates a 92% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (99th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16509?
CVE-2018-16509 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).
How do I remediate CVE-2018-16509?
A fix for CVE-2018-16509 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

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