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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-5052

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 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 AppendAttributeValue function in the JavaScript engine in Mozilla 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 cause a denial of service (crash) via unknown vectors that trigger memory corruption, as demonstrated by e4x/extensions/regress-410192.js.

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 JavaScript engine's AppendAttributeValue function in Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, and SeaMonkey 1.x allows remote attackers to cause denial of service (crash) via unknown vectors that corrupt memory, as demonstrated by a specific JavaScript test case.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 2.0.0.18+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.18+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.13+ to obtain the patched JavaScript engine. No other compensating controls needed for this straightforward version upgrade.

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
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
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
    Determine which Mozilla application is installed: Firefox (browser), Thunderbird (email client), or SeaMonkey (suite). Check the application's About/Help menu or examine installed program files.
    Affected if The product is Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, or SeaMonkey 1.x (any version within the 1.x to 1.1.13 range)
  2. Check Firefox version
    For Firefox: Open Help > About Firefox, or enter 'about:support' in the address bar. Look for the version number displayed.
    Affected if Firefox version is 2.0 through 2.0.0.17 (anything below 2.0.0.18)
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    For Thunderbird: Open Help > About Thunderbird, or enter 'about:support' in the address bar. Look for the version number displayed.
    Affected if Thunderbird version is 2.0 through 2.0.0.17 (anything below 2.0.0.18)
  4. Check SeaMonkey version
    For SeaMonkey: Open Help > About SeaMonkey. Look for the version number displayed.
    Affected if SeaMonkey version is 1.0 through 1.1.13 (anything at or below 1.1.13)
  5. Confirm JavaScript is enabled
    The vulnerability exists in the JavaScript engine's AppendAttributeValue function. JavaScript is enabled by default in all three affected products. No configuration change needed - if you use any web browsing or email with HTML content, JavaScript is active.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled (default state in Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey)

You are affected if you are running Firefox 2.0-2.0.0.17, Thunderbird 2.0-2.0.0.17, or SeaMonkey 1.0-1.1.13 with JavaScript enabled (the default).

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 2.0.0.18 or later
Fixed in 2.0.0.18
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 2.0.0.18+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.18+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.13+ to obtain the patched JavaScript engine. No other compensating controls needed for this straightforward version upgrade.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 2.0.0.18 | Thunderbird 2.0.0.18 | SeaMonkey 1.1.13 (or migrate to currently supported versions)

  1. 1. Identify which Mozilla product is affected (Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, or SeaMonkey 1.x)
  2. 2. If using Firefox, upgrade to version 2.0.0.18 or later
  3. 3. If using Thunderbird, upgrade to version 2.0.0.18 or later
  4. 4. If using SeaMonkey, upgrade to version 1.1.13 or later
  5. 5. Alternatively, migrate to a currently supported browser version (Firefox 3.6+ or later, or SeaMonkey 2.x)
Caveat These are end-of-life products from 2008; modern websites may not function properly. Consider migrating to currently supported browser versions (Firefox ESR or latest stable).

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA0.5 h
3.5 hours of engineering $750
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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-2008-5052 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