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Firefox MobileWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-1133

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-04-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.0.3 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
FreeType before 2.4.9, as used in Mozilla Firefox Mobile before 10.0.4 and other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid heap write operation and memory corruption) or possibly execute arbitrary code via crafted glyph or bitmap data in a BDF font.

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 FreeType's BDF font parsing. Crafted glyph or bitmap data in BDF fonts causes invalid heap write operations, leading to memory corruption and potential arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade FreeType to version 2.4.9 or later. Verify all products using FreeType receive the update, as the library is used across multiple applications.

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
Firefox MobileWeb browser
Affected:<= 10.0.3= 1.0= 4.0= 5.0= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0= 10.0.1
FreetypeApplication
Affected:<= 2.4.8= 1.3.1= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.0.8= 2.0.9

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 FreeType library version
    Locate the FreeType library (libfreetype.so on Linux, freetype.dll on Windows, or freetype.framework on macOS) and check its version. On Linux: ldd <application> | grep freetype or find /usr/lib -name 'libfreetype*'. On Windows: check file properties of freetype.dll. On macOS: otool -L <application> | grep freetype or check the framework version.
    Affected if The FreeType version is 2.4.8 or earlier, or falls within versions 2.0.0 through 2.0.9, or is 1.3.1.
  2. Identify Mozilla Firefox Mobile version
    Check the application version through the device's app settings, about dialog, or package manifest (Android: package info in Settings > Apps > Firefox; iOS: check App Store or iTunes).
    Affected if The Firefox Mobile version is 10.0.3 or earlier, or exactly 1.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, or 10.0.1.
  3. Determine if BDF font parsing is active
    Inspect application logs or debug output when loading fonts. Look for BDF font file loading (files with .bdf extension). Check if the application or process loads BDF format fonts by monitoring file access or examining font configuration files referencing .bdf files.
    Affected if The application loads or parses BDF format font files (identified by .bdf extension or BDF font loader activity in process traces).
  4. Check for untrusted font input sources
    Review the application configuration and runtime behavior to determine if it loads fonts from untrusted or user-supplied sources, such as web content, email attachments, downloaded files, or custom font directories accessible to low-privilege users.
    Affected if The application processes BDF fonts from untrusted sources such as web content, email, downloaded files, or user-provided font files.

You are affected if FreeType version is 2.4.8 or earlier (or 2.0.x/1.3.1), or Firefox Mobile is in the affected versions listed, AND the application parses BDF format fonts from any source.

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 10.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FreeType to version 2.4.9 or later. Verify all products using FreeType receive the update, as the library is used across multiple applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

FreeType 2.4.9+; Firefox Mobile 10.0.4+

  1. Upgrade FreeType library to version 2.4.9 or later (e.g., 2.4.9, 2.4.10, or latest stable 2.x release)
  2. If using FreeType in an application, rebuild/relink the application against the updated FreeType library
  3. If the system has Firefox Mobile (Android), upgrade to Firefox Mobile 10.0.4 or later to get the bundled fixed FreeType
Caveat Minor: As this is a security patch release, compatibility regressions are unlikely but test critical font rendering functionality after upgrade

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

Fix this in Firefox Mobile Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2012-1133 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