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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-4062

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.12 / 2.0.0.17 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
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in Mozilla Firefox before 2.0.0.17 and 3.x before 3.0.2, Thunderbird before 2.0.0.17, and SeaMonkey before 1.1.12 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via vectors related to the JavaScript engine and (1) misinterpretation of the characteristics of Namespace and QName in jsxml.c, (2) misuse of signed integers in the nsEscapeCount function in nsEscape.cpp, and (3) interaction of JavaScript garbage collection with certain use of an NPObject in the nsNPObjWrapper::GetNewOrUsed function in nsJSNPRuntime.cpp.

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

This is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Mozilla's JavaScript engine affecting Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey. Three distinct attack vectors exist: misinterpretation of Namespace/QName in jsxml.c, signed integer misuse in nsEscapeCount (nsEscape.cpp), and unsafe garbage collection interaction with NPObjects in nsJSNPRuntime.cpp. All allow remote code execution or denial of service via malicious JavaScript.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 2.0.0.17 or 3.0.2+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.17+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.12+. This is a straightforward patch deployment; no code-level remediation required.

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:< 2.0.0.17>= 3.0, < 3.0.2
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.06= 7.04= 7.10= 8.04
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:< 1.1.12
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:< 2.0.0.17

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 installed Mozilla product
    Check which Mozilla application is in use: Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (email client), or SeaMonkey (suite). On Linux, use 'dpkg -l | grep -i mozilla' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i mozilla' to list installed Mozilla packages.
    Affected if The product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey and the version falls within the affected ranges.
  2. Determine Firefox version
    Open Firefox and navigate to Help > About Firefox, or type 'about:firefox' in the address bar. Alternatively, run 'firefox --version' from command line. Compare the version number against < 2.0.0.17 or >= 3.0 but < 3.0.2.
    Affected if Version is less than 2.0.0.17, or 3.0 through 3.0.2.
  3. Determine Thunderbird version
    Open Thunderbird and navigate to Help > About Thunderbird, or run 'thunderbird --version' from command line. Compare against < 2.0.0.17.
    Affected if Version is less than 2.0.0.17.
  4. Determine SeaMonkey version
    Open SeaMonkey and navigate to Help > About SeaMonkey, or run 'seamonkey --version' from command line. Compare against < 1.1.12.
    Affected if Version is less than 1.1.12.
  5. Check Linux distribution packages
    On Debian/Ubuntu systems, run 'dpkg -l | grep -E "(firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey)" | head -20' to list installed Mozilla packages with version numbers. On Red Hat/CentOS, use 'rpm -qa | grep -E "(firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey)".'
    Affected if Any listed package version matches the affected ranges for the specific product.

You are affected if Firefox < 2.0.0.17 or 3.0-3.0.2, Thunderbird < 2.0.0.17, or SeaMonkey < 1.1.12 is installed.

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 1.1.12 / 2.0.0.17 / 3.0.2 or later
Fixed in 1.1.122.0.0.173.0.2
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 2.0.0.17 or 3.0.2+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.17+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.12+. This is a straightforward patch deployment; no code-level remediation required.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 2.0.0.17 or Firefox 3.0.2; Thunderbird 2.0.0.17; SeaMonkey 1.1.12

  1. Upgrade Firefox to version 2.0.0.17 (for Firefox 2.x branches) or 3.0.2 (for Firefox 3.x branches)
  2. Upgrade Thunderbird to version 2.0.0.17
  3. Upgrade SeaMonkey to version 1.1.12
  4. After upgrading, verify the installed version matches the fixed release
  5. Clear browser cache and restart the application
Caveat These are security updates from 2008; ensure compatibility with existing extensions and plugins before deployment

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2008-4062 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