CVE-2009-5078

MEDIUM 6.5CVE-2009-5078 · Published 30/06/2011 · updated 16/06/2026

In short

CVE-2009-5078 is a MEDIUM (CVSS 6.5) vulnerability affecting groff (gnu).
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS): 2.3%, higher than 83.3% of all vulnerabilities.
No patched version is listed yet: follow the vendor's advisory in References.

Package	Affected versions	Patched versions
groff gnu	`= 1.10= 1.11= 1.11a= 1.14= 1.15= 1.16= 1.16.1= 1.17.1= 1.17.2= 1.18.1= 1.19= 1.19.1= 1.19.2= 1.20≤ 1.20.1`	No fix yet

Description

contrib/pdfmark/pdfroff.sh in GNU troff (aka groff) before 1.21 launches the Ghostscript program without the -dSAFER option, which allows remote attackers to create, overwrite, rename, or delete arbitrary files via a crafted document.

References

ftp.gnu.org/gnu/groff/groff-1.20.1-1.21.diff.gz · Patch
bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi
lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2015/Aug/msg00001.html · Vendor Advisory
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/09/1
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/10/2
securityfocus.com/bid/36381
support.apple.com/kb/HT205031 · Vendor Advisory

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Package

Affected versions

Patched versions

groff

gnu

= 1.10= 1.11= 1.11a= 1.14= 1.15= 1.16= 1.16.1= 1.17.1= 1.17.2= 1.18.1= 1.19= 1.19.1= 1.19.2= 1.20≤ 1.20.1

No fix yet

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