dbcve.org
Firefox MobileWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-1136

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 that lacks an ENCODING field.

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

Heap-based memory corruption vulnerability in FreeType's BDF font parser. When processing BDF fonts lacking an ENCODING field, the parser performs invalid heap writes, allowing denial of service or potentially arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate FreeType library to version 2.4.9 or later. For Firefox Mobile, update to version 10.0.4 or later.

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. Check FreeType library version
    Run 'freetype-config --version' or inspect the shared library version (e.g., libfreetype.so.6)
    Affected if Version is 2.4.8 or lower, or matches 1.3.1, 2.0.0 through 2.0.9
  2. Check Firefox Mobile version
    Inspect the application version in the Firefox Mobile installation (typically in the APK metadata or app info)
    Affected if Version is 10.0.3 or lower, or matches 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
  3. Identify if BDF font parsing is in use
    Monitor process for loading of BDF font files (typically .bdf extension) or check application font configuration for BDF font paths
    Affected if BDF fonts are being loaded by the application using the FreeType library
  4. Inspect BDF font files for ENCODING field
    Open suspected BDF font files in a text editor and search for the 'ENCODING' keyword in the font header section
    Affected if Any BDF fonts loaded lack the ENCODING field, triggering the vulnerable code path

User is affected if they run a vulnerable FreeType version (2.4.8 or lower, or 1.3.1/2.0.x) or Firefox Mobile version (10.0.3 or lower, or specific versions listed) AND process BDF fonts that lack an ENCODING field.

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

Update FreeType library to version 2.4.9 or later. For Firefox Mobile, update to version 10.0.4 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

FreeType 2.4.9 or later; Firefox Mobile 10.0.4 or later

  1. Upgrade FreeType library to version 2.4.9 or later to remediate the vulnerability
  2. If using Firefox Mobile, upgrade to version 10.0.4 or later which includes the fixed FreeType library
  3. Verify the installed FreeType version using 'freetype-config --version' or checking library files
  4. For system packages, apply updates via your distribution's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade freetype, yum update freetype, or zypper update freetype)
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a security update to a library and browser; ensure compatibility with other software dependencies on FreeType

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-1136 — 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-2012-1136 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