gs 9.25 in ubuntu package crashes (but not same version from git repo)

[Jorge Olmos]

To reproduce this, in a fully updated Ubuntu 18.0.4, download https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf
and run:
$ pdf2ps dummy.pdf
It should generate a ps, but it crashes instead.

LONG DESCRIPTION:

I recently updated my Ubuntu 16.0.4 to Ubuntu 18.0.4 I have been unable to use my printer since them.
Looking in /var/log/cups/error_log gave me the clue to find this:

With the gs executable included in my distro, I get:

$ pdf2ps dummy.pdf
  ./base/gsicc_manage.c:1244: gsicc_open_search(): Could not find default_gray.icc
| ./base/gsicc_manage.c:2261: gsicc_init_iccmanager(): cannot find default icc profile
  ./base/gsicc_manage.c:1244: gsicc_open_search(): Could not find default_rgb.icc
| ./base/gsicc_manage.c:2025: gsicc_set_device_profile(): cannot find device profile
**** Unable to open the initial device, quitting.

I found information about this error in "https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/59952". *Apparently it is a fixed bug*.

So I downloaded ghostcript sources from git.ghostscript.com, checked out 9.25, and compiled it.
To use the new gs executable I did
mv /usr/bin/gs /usr/bin/gs.orig
ln -s /home/j/devel/ghostpdl/bin/gs /usr/bin/gs

And now
$ pdf2ps myFile.pdf
Generates a ps

Both gs executables (the one in Ubuntu and the one I compiled) report they are 9.25 when I do gs --version.

I have reproduced with some personal pdfs, and also with the sample pdf in https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf

It seems to me that there is a problem in the patches you include/exclude in your packaging (but haven't taken a look at it).

- Information about my system:

$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS
Release: 18.04

$ dpkg -l | grep ghost
ii ghostscript 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 interpreter for the PostScript language and for PDF
ii ghostscript-x 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 interpreter for the PostScript language and for PDF - X11 support
rc gs-cjk-resource 1.20100103-3 all Resource files for gs-cjk, ghostscript CJK-TrueType extension

[Jorge Olmos (jorge.olmos)]

Some maybe relevant info from the uri I posted (https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/59952):

Comment by Martin Pietsch (mpietsch) - Friday, 07 September 2018, 09:31 GMT
These three patches from the ghostscript git repository solve the problem:

https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;a=commit;h=c8c01f8c4164bc10281d9e8f87cf96314d93104b
https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;a=commit;h=13418541a5ae19b15f51cbb87faf344902f5af98

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

The reproducer in the initial description ("pdf2ps dummy.pdf") works for me with the Ghostscript 9.25 on Cosmic (18.10). Seems that it is only a problem of the Ghostscript 9.25 security updates on the older Ubuntu versions.

Please tell if you observe the problem also on Cosmic.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

@Till, if it's an issue with the security update to bionic and older serie it still seems a bug that should be fixed right?

[Marc Deslauriers (mdeslaur)]

I can't seem to reproduce this on bionic.

Could you paste the result of:

apt policy libgs9-common

thanks!

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

@seb128, I only wanted to know whether it does not affect Cosmic. If so, only the security team needs to update their packages with the patches of comment #1 and no SRU for Cosmic is required.

[Jorge Olmos (jorge.olmos)]

$ apt policy libgs9-common
libgs9-common:
  Installed: 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.1
  Candidate: 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.1
  Version table:
 *** 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main i386 Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     9.22~dfsg+1-0ubuntu1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages

[Jacob Becker (jacob-becker-h)]

After upgrading to latest version today,the error is gone.

libgs9-common:
  Installed: 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
  Candidate: 9.25~dfsg+1-0ubuntu0.18.04.2