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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-0472

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-04-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.9 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
The cairo-dwrite implementation in Mozilla Firefox 4.x through 11.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.4, Thunderbird 5.0 through 11.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.4, and SeaMonkey before 2.9, when certain Windows Vista and Windows 7 configurations are used, does not properly restrict font-rendering attempts, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly 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

The cairo-dwrite font-rendering implementation in Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey on Windows Vista/7 fails to properly restrict font-rendering attempts, allowing memory corruption that can be exploited for denial of service or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 12+, Firefox ESR 10.0.4+, Thunderbird 12+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.4+, or SeaMonkey 2.9+. This is a legacy 2012 vulnerability with straightforward patch-based 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:= 4.0= 4.0.1= 5.0= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 7.0= 7.0.1= 8.0= 8.0.1= 9.0= 9.0.1
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:= 5.0= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 7.0= 7.0.1= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3
Thunderbird EsrApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:<= 2.9= 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

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. Identify the installed Mozilla product
    Check Programs and Features or locate the executable (firefox.exe, thunderbird.exe, seamonkey.exe)
    Affected if The product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey
  2. Check the installed version number
    Open Help > About in the application, or run: for Firefox 'C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe -v', for Thunderbird 'C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe -v', for SeaMonkey 'C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey\seamonkey.exe -v'
    Affected if Version matches any of these: Firefox 4.0, 4.0.1, 5.0, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 7.0, 7.0.1, 8.0, 8.0.1, 9.0, 9.0.1; Thunderbird 5.0, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 7.0, 7.0.1, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.0.2, 10.0.3; Thunderbird ESR 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.0.2, 10.0.3, 10.0.4; SeaMonkey 1.0 through 1.1 or SeaMonkey 2.9 or ea
  3. Verify the operating system
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name"'
    Affected if The system is Windows Vista or Windows 7 (the cairo-dwrite font-rendering flaw only affects these Windows versions)
  4. Confirm cairo-dwrite rendering is in use
    The cairo-dwrite backend is automatically used on affected Windows Vista/7 versions when rendering fonts; no explicit configuration check is needed - this is the default rendering path for these versions
    Affected if The product version is affected and OS is Windows Vista/7, meaning the vulnerable cairo-dwrite code path is active

You are affected if you run Firefox 4.0-9.0.1, Thunderbird 5.0-10.0.3/ESR 10.0.4, or SeaMonkey 2.9/1.x on Windows Vista or Windows 7.

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 2.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 12+, Firefox ESR 10.0.4+, Thunderbird 12+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.4+, or SeaMonkey 2.9+. This is a legacy 2012 vulnerability with straightforward patch-based remediation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 11.0+, Thunderbird 11.0+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.4+, or SeaMonkey 2.9+

  1. 1. Identify the affected Mozilla product installed (Firefox, Thunderbird, Thunderbird ESR, or SeaMonkey)
  2. 2. Check the currently installed version by navigating to Help > About in the application menu
  3. 3. For Firefox: Upgrade to version 11.0 or later
  4. 4. For Thunderbird: Upgrade to version 11.0 or later
  5. 5. For Thunderbird ESR: Upgrade to version 10.0.4 or later
  6. 6. For SeaMonkey: Upgrade to version 2.9 or later
  7. 7. Download the latest version from the official Mozilla website (www.mozilla.org)
  8. 8. Close all instances of the affected application
Caveat These are very old 2012-era applications; modern equivalents have significantly different UI and features. Ensure compatibility with any required plugins or extensions before upgrading.

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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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-2012-0472 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