FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2011-0051
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 · uneditedMozilla Firefox before 3.5.17 and 3.6.x before 3.6.14, and SeaMonkey before 2.0.12, does not properly handle certain recursive eval calls, which makes it easier for remote attackers to force a user to respond positively to a dialog question, as demonstrated by a question about granting privileges.
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 confidenceThis is a client-side browser vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox and SeaMonkey where improper handling of recursive eval calls allows remote attackers to manipulate users into positively responding to security dialogs (like privilege grant prompts). The attacker exploits the recursive call stack to force the dialog into a state where the 'Allow' button is pre-selected or more likely to be clicked.
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
= 3.6= 3.6.2= 3.6.3= 3.6.4= 3.6.6= 3.6.7= 3.6.8= 3.6.9= 3.6.10= 3.6.11= 3.6.12= 3.6.13<= 2.0.11= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.4= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.0.9= 1.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed browser productOpen the browser and navigate to Help > About (Firefox) or Help > About SeaMonkey to display the product name and versionAffected if The product is Mozilla Firefox or SeaMonkey
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Determine the exact Firefox versionIn Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox. The version number displays in the window title or as 'Version X.X.X'Affected if Version is 3.6, 3.6.2, 3.6.3, 3.6.4, 3.6.6, 3.6.7, 3.6.8, 3.6.9, 3.6.10, 3.6.11, 3.6.12, or 3.6.13
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Determine the exact SeaMonkey versionIn SeaMonkey, go to Help > About SeaMonkey. The version number displays in the dialogAffected if Version is 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, 1.0.5, 1.0.6, 1.0.7, 1.0.8, 1.0.9, 1.1, or 2.0.11 or earlier
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Verify the recursive eval condition existsThis is a client-side vulnerability that affects browsers when processing recursive eval calls through malicious web content. The vulnerability allows manipulation of security dialogs during privileged operationsAffected if The browser processes web content containing recursive eval calls that trigger privilege grant prompts
You are affected if you are running any of the listed Firefox 3.6.x versions or SeaMonkey versions 1.x through 2.0.11, and the browser is used to interact with untrusted web content that could trigger the recursive eval behavior with security dialogs.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade affected browsers (Firefox to 3.5.17+/3.6.14+, SeaMonkey to 2.0.12+) or migrate to a supported browser version. This is a legacy vulnerability from 2011.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing0.5 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0051 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-0051 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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