dbcve.org
FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2011-2996

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-09-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Unspecified vulnerability in the plugin API in Mozilla Firefox 3.6.x before 3.6.23 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox 3.6.x plugin API prior to version 3.6.23 allows remote attackers to potentially achieve arbitrary code execution through unknown vectors affecting the plugin handling subsystem.

MitigationUpgrade Firefox to version 3.6.23 or later, or migrate to a currently supported Firefox release. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via patch management and verify successful remediation.

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:= 3.6= 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

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. Determine installed Firefox version
    Open Firefox, click Help > About Firefox, or run 'firefox --version' from command line
    Affected if The displayed version matches any of the following: 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
  2. Confirm plugin handling is active
    Verify that plugins are enabled in Firefox: go to Add-ons > Plugins, or check that the plugin directory contains any NPAPI plugins
    Affected if Any NPAPI plugins are installed and enabled (this is the default configuration in affected versions)

You are affected if you are running Firefox version 3.6, 3.6.2-3.6.4, or 3.6.6-3.6.13 with plugins 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Firefox to version 3.6.23 or later, or migrate to a currently supported Firefox release. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via patch management and verify successful remediation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 3.6.23 (or migrate to a supported modern Firefox release such as ESR 115.x or latest 128.x)

  1. 1. Download Firefox 3.6.23 (the fixed release for the 3.6.x branch) from the Mozilla archives or a trusted mirror
  2. 2. Close all instances of the currently running Firefox browser
  3. 3. Install Firefox 3.6.23 over the existing installation, or install to a new directory
  4. 4. Restart Firefox and verify the version by navigating to Help > About Firefox
  5. 5. Confirm the version displayed shows 3.6.23
Caveat Firefox 3.6.x is end-of-life; consider migrating to a supported Firefox branch for ongoing security updates

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2996 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2011-2996 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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