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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2005-0592

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-03-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the UTF8ToNewUnicode function for Firefox before 1.0.1 and Mozilla before 1.7.6 might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via invalid sequences in a UTF8 encoded string that result in a zero length value.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in the UTF8ToNewUnicode function in Firefox before 1.0.1 and Mozilla before 1.7.6. The vulnerability is triggered by malformed UTF-8 encoded strings containing invalid sequences that result in zero-length values, causing the function to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries on the heap, potentially allowing crash or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 1.0.1 or later, or Mozilla 1.7.6 or later. For legacy systems, migrate to supported browser versions or implement compensating controls such as network-based filtering of untrusted UTF-8 content.

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= 0.10= 0.10.1= 1.0
MozillaApplication
Affected:= 1.3= 1.4= 1.4.1= 1.5= 1.5.1= 1.6= 1.7= 1.7.1= 1.7.2= 1.7.3= 1.7.5

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

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

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 installed browser product
    Check if Mozilla Firefox or Mozilla Suite is installed by looking for the application in the system (e.g., /Applications/Firefox.app on macOS, or C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox on Windows, or package manager listings on Linux)
    Affected if Either Firefox or Mozilla Suite is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges
  2. Determine Firefox version
    For Firefox, open Help > About Mozilla Firefox or run 'firefox -v' from command line. Check the reported version number against 0.8, 0.9, 0.9.1, 0.9.2, 0.9.3, 0.10, 0.10.1, and 1.0
    Affected if Version matches any of the listed Firefox versions (0.8 through 1.0)
  3. Determine Mozilla Suite version
    For Mozilla Suite, open Help > About Mozilla or run 'mozilla -v' from command line. Check the reported version number against 1.3, 1.4, 1.4.1, 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6, 1.7, 1.7.1, 1.7.2, 1.7.3, and 1.7.5
    Affected if Version matches any of the listed Mozilla versions (1.3 through 1.7.5)

If either Firefox version 0.8 through 1.0 or Mozilla Suite version 1.3 through 1.7.5 is installed, the environment is affected by this CVE.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 1.0.1 or later, or Mozilla 1.7.6 or later. For legacy systems, migrate to supported browser versions or implement compensating controls such as network-based filtering of untrusted UTF-8 content.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get help mitigating

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2005-0592 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