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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-0420

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-02-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.0.0.11 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
modules/libpr0n/decoders/bmp/nsBMPDecoder.cpp in Mozilla Firefox before 2.0.0.12, Thunderbird before 2.0.0.12, and SeaMonkey before 1.1.8 does not properly perform certain calculations related to the mColors table, which allows remote attackers to read portions of memory uninitialized via a crafted 8-bit bitmap (BMP) file that triggers an out-of-bounds read within the heap, as demonstrated using a CANVAS element; or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted 8-bit bitmap file that triggers an out-of-bounds read. NOTE: the initial public reports stated that this affected Firefox in Ubuntu 6.06 through 7.10.

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 over-read vulnerability in the BMP decoder (nsBMPDecoder.cpp) allows remote attackers to read uninitialized heap memory or cause a denial of service via a crafted 8-bit BMP file that triggers improper calculations on the mColors table, leading to out-of-bounds reads.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox/Thunderbird to 2.0.0.12 or later, SeaMonkey to 1.1.8 or later. Consider restricting or disabling BMP file rendering in enterprise environments until patches are applied.

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:<= 2.0.0.11= 0.1= 0.2= 0.3= 0.4= 0.5= 0.6= 0.6.1= 0.7= 0.7.1= 0.8= 0.9
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:<= 1.1.7= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.0.9= 1.1= 1.1.1
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 2.0.0.11= 0.1= 0.5= 0.6= 0.7= 0.8= 0.9= 1.0= 1.0.2= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.8

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. Identify the installed Mozilla product
    Check if Firefox, Thunderbird, or Seamonkey is installed. On Windows, look in Program Files or check the application executable properties. On Linux, run 'rpm -qa | grep -i mozilla' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i mozilla'. On macOS, check /Applications for Firefox.app, Thunderbird.app, or SeaMonkey.app.
    Affected if Any of these three products is installed
  2. Determine the installed version
    For Firefox: Help > About Firefox or run 'firefox -version'. For Thunderbird: Help > About Thunderbird or run 'thunderbird -version'. For Seamonkey: Help > About SeaMonkey or run 'seamonkey -version'. On Linux, check the package version as above.
    Affected if Version matches or is lower than 2.0.0.11 for Firefox/Thunderbird, or 1.1.7 for Seamonkey, or matches any of the specific older version numbers listed (0.1 through 1.1.1)
  3. Confirm BMP image handling is possible
    The vulnerability is triggered when processing a crafted 8-bit BMP file. No specific configuration toggle exists to disable BMP decoding in affected versions. Determine if the product is used to view or process image files, or if it handles HTML content that could embed BMP images.
    Affected if The product can render or process BMP images and the version is within the affected range

A user is affected if they have Firefox <= 2.0.0.11, Thunderbird <= 2.0.0.11, or SeaMonkey <= 1.1.7 (or any of the specific older version numbers) and can process BMP files.

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 a release after 2.0.0.11
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox/Thunderbird to 2.0.0.12 or later, SeaMonkey to 1.1.8 or later. Consider restricting or disabling BMP file rendering in enterprise environments until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 2.0.0.12; Thunderbird 2.0.0.12; SeaMonkey 1.1.8

  1. Upgrade Firefox to version 2.0.0.12 or later (note: Firefox 2.x is end-of-life; consider upgrading to a supported modern Firefox version)
  2. Upgrade Thunderbird to version 2.0.0.12 or later (note: Thunderbird 2.x is end-of-life; consider upgrading to a supported modern Thunderbird version)
  3. Upgrade SeaMonkey to version 1.1.8 or later (note: SeaMonkey 1.x is end-of-life; consider upgrading to a supported modern version if available)
Caveat These legacy versions (Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, SeaMonkey 1.x) are all obsolete and no longer receive security updates. Upgrading to modern versions may require changes to extensions, plugins, or workflows.

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2008-0420 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