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CVE Record

CVE-2020-21710: A divide by zero issue discovered in eps_print_page in gdevepsn.c in Artifex Software GhostScript 9.50 allo...

A divide by zero issue discovered in eps_print_page in gdevepsn.c in Artifex Software GhostScript 9.50 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via opening of crafted PDF file.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-21710 is a Ghostscript denial-of-service issue. Opening a specially crafted PDF can trigger a divide-by-zero condition and crash or disrupt processing. The public record names Ghostscript 9.50, but structured affected-version data is incomplete.

Executive priority

Treat this as a reliability and service-availability risk for systems that process external PDFs. Prioritize internet-facing upload, conversion, print, and preview services first. Urgency is lower than code-execution flaws, but outages in document pipelines can still affect business operations.

Technical view

The issue is reported in eps_print_page in gdevepsn.c in Artifex Ghostscript 9.50. The vulnerability is a divide-by-zero condition reachable while opening a crafted PDF, causing denial of service. Public references include an upstream bug, an upstream commit, and a Debian LTS security update.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where Ghostscript processes untrusted PDFs, including document conversion, preview, printing, upload scanning, or backend automation. Systems without Ghostscript, or that do not process attacker-supplied PDFs, have lower exposure.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The described attack requires a crafted PDF to be opened or processed by a vulnerable Ghostscript path, resulting in service disruption rather than documented code execution.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description, Ghostscript bug, upstream commit, and Debian LTS advisory. No CVSS vector, CWE, complete CPE list, or active exploitation evidence is provided. Avoid assuming impact beyond denial of service.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply the relevant Ghostscript update from your vendor or Linux distribution.
  • Review Debian DLA 3582-1 if operating Debian LTS systems.
  • Avoid processing untrusted PDFs with vulnerable Ghostscript versions until updated.
  • Isolate document-processing workers from critical services where practical.
  • Monitor vendor advisories for exact fixed package versions.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems and containers running Ghostscript, especially version 9.50.
  • Identify workflows that process user-supplied PDFs through Ghostscript.
  • Confirm installed packages include the vendor security update or equivalent upstream fix.
  • Check document-processing service logs for repeated crashes or abnormal failures.
  • Validate compensating controls around upload and conversion services.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.