Security readout for executives and security teams
CVE-2009-5078 affects GNU groff’s pdfroff helper before version 1.21. When converting a crafted document, it could run Ghostscript without a protective option, allowing file creation, overwrite, rename, or deletion. Business risk is highest where systems automatically process untrusted documents into PDF or similar formats. Likely exposure is limited to hosts with vulnerable groff/pdfroff that process attacker-controlled documents. Higher-risk locations include mail gateways, document conversion services, build systems, publishing pipelines, or user workstations where untrusted files are converted. Prioritize remediation for servers or workflows that automatically convert outside documents. For ordinary endpoints with no untrusted document conversion, handle through normal patch management. Do not treat as active exploitation based on the provided evidence. Mitigation focus: Upgrade groff to version 1.21 or a vendor-fixed package.; Apply relevant OS vendor security updates where groff is bundled.; Avoid processing untrusted documents with vulnerable pdfroff workflows..
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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CVE-2009-5078 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
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CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/kb/HT205031CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
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