CVE-2009-4270

Exp

Stack-based buffer overflow in the errprintf function in base/gsmisc.c in ghostscript 8.64 through 8.70 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file, as originally reported for debug logging code in gdevcups.c in the CUPS output driver.

Published: 2009-12-21 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2009-4270 is rated High Exploit Risk (88.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 8.64%, 92th percentile). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). EPSS rose +3.72% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2009-4270

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-4270

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 2025-06-09 4.92% 8.64% +3.72%
2 2025-03-30 6.06% 4.92% -1.14%
3 2025-03-29 — 6.06% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-4270

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-2009-4270

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-4270

vendor priority summary link
debian medium CVE-2009-4270 medium 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-2009-4270
gentoo normal CVE-2009-4270: 1 GLSA(s) (201412-17), 1 atom(s) (app-text/ghostscript-gpl); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-4270
redhat — — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-4270
ubuntu low CVE-2009-4270 low priority: Ubuntu including 4 source packages (ghostscript, gs-afpl, gs-esp, gs-gpl), 28 status rows across 7 suites (dapper, hardy, intrepid, jaunty, karmic, lucid, upstream): DNE 16, ignored 3, needed 3, not-affected 3, released 3. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-4270

Vendor comments (NVD) for CVE-2009-4270

  • Red Hat (2009-12-22T00:00:00)

    Not vulnerable. This issue did not affect the versions of ghostscript as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, or 5.

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-4270

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ghostscript ghostscript 8.64 cpe:2.3:a:ghostscript:ghostscript:8.64:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ghostscript ghostscript 8.70 cpe:2.3:a:ghostscript:ghostscript:8.70:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-4270

cvelogic Threat Intelligence