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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2004-0904

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2004-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Integer overflow in the bitmap (BMP) decoder for Mozilla Firefox before the Preview Release, Mozilla before 1.7.3, and Thunderbird before 0.8 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via wide bitmap files that trigger heap-based buffer overflows.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Integer overflow in the bitmap (BMP) decoder when processing wide bitmap files. The overflow occurs during width calculation for BMP images, leading to heap-based buffer overflow and arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox Preview Release, Mozilla 1.7.3, Thunderbird 0.8 or later; these versions contain the patched BMP decoder.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FirefoxWeb browser
Affected:= 0.8= 0.9= 0.9.1= 0.9.2= 0.9.3
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 2.1= 3.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 3.0
Fedora CoreOperating system
Affected:= core_1.0
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.3= 9.0
Linux Advanced WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 2.1
MozillaApplication
Affected:= 1.7= 1.7.1= 1.7.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Firefox installation version
    Run 'firefox --version' or check Help > About Firefox to see the exact version number
    Affected if The version is 0.8, 0.9, 0.9.1, 0.9.2, or 0.9.3 (any of the listed vulnerable versions)
  2. Identify Mozilla suite installation version
    Run 'mozilla -V' or check Help > About Mozilla to see the exact version number
    Affected if The version is 1.7, 1.7.1, or 1.7.2 (any of the listed vulnerable versions)
  3. Check if the system has vulnerable Mozilla-based products installed
    Query installed packages using the system's package manager (rpm -qa | grep -i mozilla or dpkg -l | grep -i mozilla) to list all installed Mozilla/Firefox packages and their versions
    Affected if Any installed Mozilla or Firefox package matches version 0.8 through 0.9.3 (for Firefox) or 1.7 through 1.7.2 (for Mozilla suite)
  4. Confirm BMP image handling is in use
    The vulnerability triggers when the browser processes a specially crafted wide BMP image file. Check if the application handles BMP images by viewing any BMP file in the browser or checking file handler associations in the browser settings
    Affected if The browser has processed or can process BMP image files, which enables the vulnerable decoder path

A user is affected if they have Firefox versions 0.8 through 0.9.3 or Mozilla suite versions 1.7 through 1.7.2 installed and use the browser to view BMP images, as these versions contain the vulnerable BMP decoder with the integer overflow flaw.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox Preview Release, Mozilla 1.7.3, Thunderbird 0.8 or later; these versions contain the patched BMP decoder.

Recommended fix High confidence

Mozilla 1.7.3 or later; Firefox Preview Release (1.0PR) or later

  1. Upgrade Mozilla to version 1.7.3 or later to resolve the BMP decoder integer overflow vulnerability
  2. Upgrade Firefox to the Preview Release (1.0PR) or later which contains the patched BMP decoder
  3. For Linux distributions (Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora Core, Gentoo Linux), apply distribution-specific security updates that address CVE-2004-0904
  4. Verify the installed version matches a fixed release by checking Help > About in Firefox or Mozilla
Caveat This is a security-only upgrade; no functional breaking changes expected for this patch

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2004-0904 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data