dbcve.org
FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2011-3650

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-11-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.6.23 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
Mozilla Firefox before 3.6.24 and 4.x through 7.0 and Thunderbird before 3.1.6 and 5.0 through 7.0 do not properly handle JavaScript files that contain many functions, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file that is accessed by debugging APIs, as demonstrated by Firebug.

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

Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird contain a memory corruption vulnerability when handling JavaScript files with many functions. The issue occurs when debugging APIs (such as Firebug) access crafted JavaScript files, leading to memory corruption and potential arbitrary code execution. This is a user-assisted attack requiring the victim to open a specially crafted file.

MitigationUpgrade affected products to Firefox 3.6.24+, Firefox 8+, or Thunderbird 3.1.6+/5.0+ as appropriate. If immediate patching is not possible, disable or restrict use of debugging extensions like Firebug until the upgrade can be deployed.

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:<= 3.6.23= 0.1= 0.2= 0.3= 0.4= 0.5= 0.6= 0.6.1= 0.7= 0.7.1= 0.8= 0.9
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 3.1.5= 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

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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. Check installed Firefox version
    Open Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or run 'firefox --version' from command line
    Affected if Version is 3.6.23 or lower, or falls in the 0.x series (0.1 through 0.9)
  2. Check installed Thunderbird version
    Open Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird, or run 'thunderbird --version' from command line
    Affected if Version is 3.1.5 or lower, or falls in the 0.x series (0.1 through 0.8)
  3. Verify presence of debugging extensions
    Open Add-ons Manager (Ctrl+Shift+A), review installed extensions for Firebug or similar JavaScript debugging tools
    Affected if Firebug or other JavaScript debugging extensions are installed and enabled
  4. Assess user behavior with untrusted files
    Determine whether users in the environment commonly open JavaScript files from untrusted or unknown sources
    Affected if Users open or debug JavaScript files from untrusted sources

User is affected if they run a vulnerable Firefox or Thunderbird version AND have debugging extensions enabled AND open specially crafted JavaScript files, as all three conditions are required for exploitation.

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 3.6.23
Interim mitigation

Upgrade affected products to Firefox 3.6.24+, Firefox 8+, or Thunderbird 3.1.6+/5.0+ as appropriate. If immediate patching is not possible, disable or restrict use of debugging extensions like Firebug until the upgrade can be deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 3.6.24 or newer (preferably Firefox 8.0+); Thunderbird 3.1.6 or newer (preferably Thunderbird 8.0+)

  1. 1. Check the current installed version of Firefox or Thunderbird by navigating to Help > About (or typing 'about:' in the address bar)
  2. 2. If running Firefox 3.6.x or 4.0-7.x: upgrade to Firefox 3.6.24 or later (Firefox 8.0 or newer recommended for latest security support)
  3. 3. If running Thunderbird 3.1.x or 5.0-7.x: upgrade to Thunderbird 3.1.6 or later (Thunderbird 8.0 or newer recommended for latest security support)
  4. 4. Download the appropriate version from the official Mozilla website (www.mozilla.org) or use the system's package manager
  5. 5. Install the updated version and restart the application
  6. 6. Verify the fix by checking the new version in Help > About
Caveat Upgrading from Firefox 3.6.x to 4.0+ involves significant UI changes (Australis interface); some legacy add-ons may be incompatible

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3650 — 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-2011-3650 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