CVE-2009-3743

Off-by-one error in the Ins_MINDEX function in the TrueType bytecode interpreter in Ghostscript before 8.71 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) via a malformed TrueType font in a document that trigger an integer overflow and a heap-based buffer overflow.

Published: 2010-08-26 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2009-3743 is rated High Risk (71.7/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 6.81%, 93th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +1.93% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-3743

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 4.88% 6.81% +1.93%
2 2026-06-13 4.46% 4.88% +0.43%
3 2026-06-08 4.46%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-3743

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-3743

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-3743

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2009-3743 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (ghostscript), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2009-3743
gentoo normal CVE-2009-3743: 1 GLSA(s) (201412-17), 1 atom(s) (app-text/ghostscript-gpl); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-3743
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-3743
ubuntu low CVE-2009-3743 low priority: Ubuntu including 4 source packages (ghostscript, gs-afpl, gs-esp, gs-gpl), 36 status rows across 9 suites (dapper, hardy, jaunty, karmic, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, upstream): DNE 22, ignored 5, needs-triage 4, not-affected 4, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-3743

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-3743

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
artifex afpl_ghostscript 6.0 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 6.01 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:6.01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 6.50 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:6.50:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 7.00 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:7.00:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 7.03 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:7.03:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 7.04 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:7.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.00 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.00:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.11 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.12 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.13 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.14 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.50 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.50:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.51 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.51:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.52 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.52:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.53 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.53:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex afpl_ghostscript 8.54 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:afpl_ghostscript:8.54:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex ghostscript_fonts 6.0 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript_fonts:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex ghostscript_fonts 8.11 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript_fonts:8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript <= 8.70 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.01 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.15 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.50 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.50:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.51 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.51:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.54 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.54:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.56 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.56:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.57 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.57:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.60 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.60:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.61 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.61:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.62 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.62:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.63 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.63:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
artifex gpl_ghostscript 8.64 cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:8.64:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-3743

cvelogic Threat Intelligence