CVE-2020-36773: 
Ghostscript vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2020-36773 is a critical vulnerability affecting Artifex Ghostscript versions before 9.53.0. The vulnerability involves an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free issue in the devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c component (for txtwrite) when processing PDF documents where a single character code can map to multiple Unicode code points, such as in ligatures (NVD).

The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical), indicating its severe nature. The flaw specifically occurs in the txtwrite device of Ghostscript when handling PDF documents, where memory corruption can occur during text processing. The issue manifests when a single character code maps to multiple Unicode code points, leading to both an out-of-bounds write and a use-after-free condition (NVD, Ghostscript Bug).

The vulnerability's presence in Ghostscript affects numerous desktop applications and Linux distributions that rely on this software for PostScript and PDF file handling. Applications potentially affected include LibreOffice, GIMP, Inkscape, ImageMagick, and CUPS printing system. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial-of-service conditions (Security Online).

The vulnerability has been fixed in Ghostscript version 9.53.0 and later releases. Organizations and individuals should update all instances of Ghostscript to version 9.53.0 or later, exercise caution when handling PDF or PostScript files from untrusted sources, and maintain regular patching practices (Security Online).