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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2008-5506

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-12-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.14 / 2.0.0.19 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
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
Mozilla Firefox 3.x before 3.0.5 and 2.x before 2.0.0.19, Thunderbird 2.x before 2.0.0.19, and SeaMonkey 1.x before 1.1.14 allows remote attackers to bypass the same origin policy by causing the browser to issue an XMLHttpRequest to an attacker-controlled resource that uses a 302 redirect to a resource in a different domain, then reading content from the response, aka "response disclosure."

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

A same-origin policy bypass vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox 2.x/3.x, Thunderbird 2.x, and SeaMonkey 1.x allows remote attackers to read content from arbitrary domains by exploiting XMLHttpRequest behavior with 302 redirects. The browser issues a request to an attacker-controlled resource that responds with a redirect to a target domain, then the browser follows the redirect and allows the attacker-controlled page to read the response content from the different domain.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.0.5+, Firefox 2.0.0.19+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.19+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.14+. Alternatively, disable JavaScript as a defense-in-depth measure until patches can be 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, < 2.0.0.19>= 3.0, < 3.0.5
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.06= 7.10= 8.04= 8.10
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 5.0
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:>= 1.0, < 1.1.14
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:>= 2.0, < 2.0.0.19

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/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
    Check for Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey installation by looking for their executables or checking package manager listings. On Linux, use commands like 'dpkg -l | grep -i mozilla' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i mozilla'. On Windows, check Program Files for Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey folders.
    Affected if Any of these three products (Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey) are installed
  2. Determine Firefox version
    Open Firefox and navigate to Help > About Firefox, or type 'about:config' in the address bar and look at the version at the top. From command line on Linux: 'firefox --version' or 'rpm -q firefox' or 'dpkg -l firefox'.
    Affected if Firefox version is >= 2.0 and < 2.0.0.19, OR >= 3.0 and < 3.0.5
  3. Determine Thunderbird version
    Open Thunderbird and navigate to Help > About Thunderbird. From command line on Linux: 'thunderbird --version' or 'rpm -q thunderbird' or 'dpkg -l thunderbird'.
    Affected if Thunderbird version is >= 2.0 and < 2.0.0.19
  4. Determine SeaMonkey version
    Open SeaMonkey and navigate to Help > About SeaMonkey. From command line on Linux: 'seamonkey --version' or 'rpm -q seamonkey' or 'dpkg -l seamonkey'.
    Affected if SeaMonkey version is >= 1.0 and < 1.1.14
  5. Check if JavaScript is enabled
    In Firefox/SeaMonkey: go to Tools > Options > Content (or about:config, search for 'javascript.enabled'). In Thunderbird: go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Scripting, or check config editor for 'javascript.enabled'.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled in the browser (this is the default state that leaves users vulnerable to the exploitation vector)

You are affected if any of Firefox 2.x before 2.0.0.19, Firefox 3.x before 3.0.5, Thunderbird 2.x before 2.0.0.19, or SeaMonkey 1.x before 1.1.14 is installed with JavaScript enabled.

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 1.1.14 / 2.0.0.19 / 3.0.5 or later
Fixed in 1.1.142.0.0.193.0.5
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.0.5+, Firefox 2.0.0.19+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.19+, or SeaMonkey 1.1.14+. Alternatively, disable JavaScript as a defense-in-depth measure until patches can be applied.

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2008-5506 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