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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-5022

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
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
The nsXMLHttpRequest::NotifyEventListeners method in Firefox 3.x before 3.0.4, Firefox 2.x before 2.0.0.18, Thunderbird 2.x before 2.0.0.18, and SeaMonkey 1.x before 1.1.13 allows remote attackers to bypass the same-origin policy and execute arbitrary script via multiple listeners, which bypass the inner window check.

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

Same-origin policy bypass in Mozilla products' XMLHttpRequest implementation. The nsXMLHttpRequest::NotifyEventListeners method fails to properly validate the inner window context when multiple event listeners are present, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of a different origin.

MitigationUpgrade affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.0.4+, Firefox 2.0.0.18+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.18+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.13+. This is a client-side vulnerability requiring user endpoint updates.

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

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 Mozilla product and version
    Check the application version: For Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox. For Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird. For SeaMonkey, go to Help > About SeaMonkey. Alternatively, check the package manager: dpkg -l firefox thunderbird seamonkey or rpm -qa | grep -E 'firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey'
    Affected if The installed version is Firefox 2.0 through 2.0.0.17, Firefox 3.0 through 3.0.3, Thunderbird 2.0 through 2.0.0.17, or SeaMonkey 1.0 through 1.1.12
  2. Confirm product name and build
    Verify the exact product name and build variant. Some Linux distributions ship modified versions. Check: firefox --version, thunderbird --version, or seamonkey --version from command line, or inspect the application binary metadata
    Affected if The product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey from the Mozilla project (not a hardened fork) and the version matches the vulnerable ranges
  3. Determine XMLHttpRequest usage context
    For web application auditors: Review JavaScript code using XMLHttpRequest. Look for code paths that register multiple event listeners (onload, onerror, onreadystatechange) on the same XMLHttpRequest object and make cross-origin requests
    Affected if The environment runs web content that uses XMLHttpRequest with multiple event listeners communicating across different origins

A user is affected if they run Firefox < 2.0.0.18 or < 3.0.4, Thunderbird < 2.0.0.18, or SeaMonkey < 1.1.13, and the browser executes web content using XMLHttpRequest with multiple event listeners making cross-origin requests.

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
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

Upgrade affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.0.4+, Firefox 2.0.0.18+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.18+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.13+. This is a client-side vulnerability requiring user endpoint updates.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

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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-2008-5022 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