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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-0017

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.13 / 2.0.0.18 or later.
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
The http-index-format MIME type parser (nsDirIndexParser) in Firefox 3.x before 3.0.4, Firefox 2.x before 2.0.0.18, and SeaMonkey 1.x before 1.1.13 does not check for an allocation failure, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via an HTTP index response with a crafted 200 header, which triggers memory corruption and a buffer overflow.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in the http-index-format MIME type parser (nsDirIndexParser) in Firefox and SeaMonkey. The parser fails to check for allocation failures when processing HTTP index responses with crafted 200 headers, leading to buffer overflow and potential arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patches by updating affected Firefox installations to version 3.0.4 or later (2.x to 2.0.0.18+) and SeaMonkey to 1.1.13 or later.

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:>= 2.0, < 2.0.0.18>= 3.0, < 3.0.4
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.06= 7.10= 8.04= 8.10
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 5.0
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:>= 1.0, < 1.1.13

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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. Check Firefox version on Windows or Mac
    In Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox. The version number is displayed in the window title or in the 'Name' line (e.g., 'Mozilla Firefox 3.0.3').
    Affected if Version is 2.0.x before 2.0.0.18, or 3.0.x before 3.0.4 (e.g., 3.0.0 through 3.0.3)
  2. Check Firefox version on Linux
    Run 'firefox -v' or 'firefox --version' from the command line, or check the package manager (dpkg -l firefox, rpm -q firefox).
    Affected if Version is 2.0.x before 2.0.0.18, or 3.0.x before 3.0.4
  3. Check SeaMonkey version
    In SeaMonkey, go to Help > About SeaMonkey. The version number is displayed in the window.
    Affected if Version is 1.0.x through 1.1.x before 1.1.13 (e.g., 1.1.1, 1.1.12)
  4. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    The flaw is in the HTTP index format (nsDirIndexParser) which processes directory listings from HTTP servers. Any use of the browser to view HTTP directory listings could trigger this vulnerability, but exploitation requires a crafted malicious HTTP response.
    Affected if The browser is used to browse HTTP servers that return directory index listings, and the installed version falls within the affected ranges above.

A user is affected if they are running Firefox versions 2.0.0.x before 2.0.0.18, or 3.0.x before 3.0.4, or SeaMonkey versions 1.0.x through 1.1.x before 1.1.13, and they browse HTTP servers that return directory index responses.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.1.13 / 2.0.0.18 / 3.0.4 or later
Fixed in 1.1.132.0.0.183.0.4
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches by updating affected Firefox installations to version 3.0.4 or later (2.x to 2.0.0.18+) and SeaMonkey to 1.1.13 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 2.0.0.18 / Firefox 3.0.4 / SeaMonkey 1.1.13

  1. Identify the currently installed Firefox, SeaMonkey, or Mozilla-based browser version
  2. For Firefox 2.x users: Upgrade to Firefox 2.0.0.18 or later
  3. For Firefox 3.x users: Upgrade to Firefox 3.0.4 or later
  4. For SeaMonkey 1.x users: Upgrade to SeaMonkey 1.1.13 or later
  5. On Linux distributions (Ubuntu/Debian), apply available security updates via package manager: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade (or use distribution-specific update tools)
  6. Restart the browser after upgrading
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Upgrade to the latest minor version within your major release branch; older extensions/add-ons may be incompatible with newer minor versions

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

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
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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-2008-0017 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