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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2009-3072

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.0.13 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 the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 3.0.14 and 3.5.x before 3.5.3, Thunderbird before 2.0.0.24, and SeaMonkey before 1.1.19 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via vectors related to the BinHex decoder in netwerk/streamconv/converters/nsBinHexDecoder.cpp, and unknown vectors.

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

Multiple critical vulnerabilities in Mozilla browser engine allow remote code execution via the BinHex decoder (nsBinHexDecoder.cpp) and other unspecified vectors, causing memory corruption and application crashes. Affects Firefox < 3.0.14/3.5.3, Thunderbird < 2.0.0.24, and SeaMonkey < 1.1.19.

MitigationUpgrade affected Mozilla products to patched versions (Firefox 3.0.14+/3.5.3+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.24+, SeaMonkey 1.1.19+). If running end-of-life versions, migrate to currently supported releases.

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:<= 3.0.13= 0.1= 0.2= 0.3= 0.4= 0.5= 0.6= 0.6.1= 0.7= 0.7.1= 0.8= 0.9

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 and version
    Launch the application and go to Help > About (Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey). Alternatively, run: firefox --version, thunderbird --version, or seamonkey --version from command line.
    Affected if The version displayed is any of: Firefox 3.0.13 or earlier (including 0.1 through 0.9 series); Firefox 3.5.x versions before 3.5.3; Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 or earlier; SeaMonkey 1.1.18 or earlier. For Firefox 3.0.x, any version below 3.0.14 is vulnerable. For Firefox 3.5.x, any version below 3.5.3 is v
  2. Confirm product family
    Check whether the installed product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey. This CVE affects all three product families with different version thresholds.
    Affected if The product is any of Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey and the version falls below the respective safe threshold (Firefox 3.0.14 or 3.5.3+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.24+, SeaMonkey 1.1.19+).
  3. Verify the application is actively used or accessible
    Check if the Mozilla application launches and processes content (web pages in Firefox, emails in Thunderbird, mixed content in SeaMonkey).
    Affected if The vulnerable application is installed and operational on any system, as the flaw can be triggered remotely through web content or email attachments.

If the installed Mozilla product is Firefox versions 3.0.13 or below, 3.5.x below 3.5.3, Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 or below, or SeaMonkey 1.1.18 or below, the environment is affected by this CVE.

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 3.0.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade affected Mozilla products to patched versions (Firefox 3.0.14+/3.5.3+, Thunderbird 2.0.0.24+, SeaMonkey 1.1.19+). If running end-of-life versions, migrate to currently supported releases.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 3.0.14 (or later 3.0.x stable release)

  1. 1. Check the current Firefox version by navigating to Help > About Firefox
  2. 2. If running Firefox 3.0.x version 3.0.13 or earlier, download Firefox 3.0.14 from the Mozilla archives or a trusted source
  3. 3. Close all Firefox windows and running instances
  4. 4. Install Firefox 3.0.14 (or a later stable 3.0.x release if 3.0.14 is unavailable)
  5. 5. Restart Firefox and verify the version in Help > About Firefox shows 3.0.14 or higher
  6. 6. Consider migrating to a modern supported Firefox release (ESR or current stable) for long-term security support
Caveat Firefox 3.0.x is an end-of-life branch with no further security updates; legacy extensions and add-ons may be incompatible with newer versions

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2009-3072 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