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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2011-2987

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-08-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0 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
Heap-based buffer overflow in Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine (ANGLE), as used in the WebGL implementation in Mozilla Firefox 4.x through 5, Thunderbird before 6, SeaMonkey 2.x before 2.3, and possibly other products might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified 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

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine) library, which provides WebGL implementation in Mozilla Firefox 4.x through 5, Thunderbird before 6, and SeaMonkey 2.x before 2.3. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors through the WebGL graphics rendering component.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products (Firefox to 6+, Thunderbird to 6+, SeaMonkey to 2.3+) to incorporate the patched ANGLE library. Alternatively, disable WebGL in browser settings as a temporary workaround until updates 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:= 4.0= 4.0.1= 5.0
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 5.0= 0.1= 0.2= 0.3= 0.4= 0.5= 0.6= 0.7= 0.7.1= 0.7.2= 0.7.3= 0.8
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:= 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= 1.1.1

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 in use: Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey. Check the application's About/Help menu or the program's file properties.
    Affected if Any of these three products are installed.
  2. Check Firefox version
    In Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or enter 'about:support' in the address bar. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if Version is 4.0, 4.0.1, or 5.0.
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    In Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if Version is 5.0 or lower, or ranges from 0.1 to 0.8.
  4. Check SeaMonkey version
    In SeaMonkey, go to Help > About SeaMonkey. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if Version is 1.0 through 1.1.1.
  5. Verify WebGL status
    In Firefox, type 'about:support' and look for 'WebGL' under Graphics. In SeaMonkey, check browser settings or enter 'about:config' and search for 'webgl.enabled_for_all_sites'.
    Affected if WebGL is enabled (value is true or not set to false).

If any affected Firefox (4.0-5.0), Thunderbird (<=5.0 or 0.1-0.8), or SeaMonkey (1.0-1.1.1) version is installed AND WebGL is enabled, the environment is vulnerable to 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 5.0
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products (Firefox to 6+, Thunderbird to 6+, SeaMonkey to 2.3+) to incorporate the patched ANGLE library. Alternatively, disable WebGL in browser settings as a temporary workaround until updates can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 6.0+ / Thunderbird 6.0+ / SeaMonkey 2.3+

  1. 1. Identify the Mozilla product currently installed (Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey)
  2. 2. Check the current version number of the installed product
  3. 3. If using Firefox 4.0, 4.0.1, or 5.0: upgrade to Firefox 6.0 or later
  4. 4. If using Thunderbird 5.0 or earlier: upgrade to Thunderbird 6.0 or later
  5. 5. If using SeaMonkey 1.0.x through 1.0.3: upgrade to SeaMonkey 2.3 or later
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify WebGL functionality works correctly in the new version
Caveat Minor risk: Upgrading from Firefox 4/5 to 6 may cause compatibility issues with older extensions; verify critical add-ons have compatible 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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2011-2987 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