[ GLSA 200507-29 ] pstotext: Remote execution of arbitrary code

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: pstotext: Remote execution of arbitrary code (GLSA 200507-29)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: remote
Date: July 31, 2005
Updated: August 11, 2005
Bug(s): #100245
ID: 200507-29

Synopsis

pstotext contains a vulnerability which can potentially result in the execution of arbitrary code.

Background

pstotext is a program that works with GhostScript to extract plain text from PostScript and PDF files.

Affected Packages

Package: app-text/pstotext
Vulnerable: < 1.8g-r1
Unaffected: >= 1.8g-r1
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

Max Vozeler reported that pstotext calls the GhostScript interpreter on untrusted PostScript files without specifying the -dSAFER option.

Impact

An attacker could craft a malicious PostScript file and entice a user to run pstotext on it, resulting in the execution of arbitrary commands with the permissions of the user running pstotext.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All pstotext users should upgrade to the latest version: