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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-1943

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-06-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Untrusted search path vulnerability in Updater.exe in the Windows Updater Service in Mozilla Firefox 12.0, Thunderbird 12.0, and SeaMonkey 2.9 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse wsock32.dll file in an application directory.

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 Windows Updater Service (Updater.exe) in Firefox 12.0, Thunderbird 12.0, and SeaMonkey 2.9 uses an untrusted search path when loading the wsock32.dll library. By placing a malicious wsock32.dll in an application directory, a local attacker can achieve privilege escalation and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the updater process.

MitigationUsers should avoid running the updater from directories where untrusted users have write access. Organizations should ensure downloads occur only from official Mozilla sources. The vendor fix requires implementing secure DLL loading by specifying full paths or using safe search order enumeration.

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:= 12.0
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:= 2.9
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:= 12.0

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
Local
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/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 installed Mozilla products
    Check Program Files or Program Files (x86) for folders named Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey. Use Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Mozilla Firefox or inspect the application executable properties.
    Affected if Any of Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey are found on the system.
  2. Verify affected version number
    Right-click the main executable (firefox.exe, thunderbird.exe, or seamonkey.exe) in the application folder, select Properties, and check the File Version. Alternatively, run the executable with -v flag or check Help > About.
    Affected if The version is exactly 12.0 for Firefox or Thunderbird, or exactly 2.9 for SeaMonkey.
  3. Locate the Updater.exe
    Search for Updater.exe in the application directory, typically in a subfolder named 'updater' or within the main application folder.
    Affected if Updater.exe exists in the Mozilla application directory.
  4. Check application directory permissions
    Right-click the application folder, select Properties > Security tab, and review write permissions for Users or other non-admin groups. Use icacls command from elevated prompt.
    Affected if Non-admin or untrusted users have Write or Write+Delete permissions to the application directory, enabling DLL preloading.
  5. Inspect for suspicious wsock32.dll
    Check the application directory (where Updater.exe resides) for any wsock32.dll file that was not originally part of the installation.
    Affected if A wsock32.dll file exists in the application directory, indicating a potential exploitation attempt.

A user is affected if they have Firefox 12.0, Thunderbird 12.0, or SeaMonkey 2.9 installed with the Updater.exe present and the application directory is writable by untrusted users, allowing DLL preloading attacks.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid running the updater from directories where untrusted users have write access. Organizations should ensure downloads occur only from official Mozilla sources. The vendor fix requires implementing secure DLL loading by specifying full paths or using safe search order enumeration.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,620
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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-2012-1943 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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