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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-3993

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.0.1 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 Chrome Object Wrapper (COW) implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 16.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.8, Thunderbird before 16.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.8, and SeaMonkey before 2.13 does not properly interact with failures of InstallTrigger methods, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code with chrome privileges via a crafted web site, related to an "XrayWrapper pollution" issue.

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 Chrome Object Wrapper (COW) implementation in Mozilla products fails to properly handle failures of InstallTrigger methods, leading to XrayWrapper pollution. This allows remote attackers to bypass security wrappers and execute arbitrary JavaScript code with elevated chrome privileges via malicious web pages.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 16.0+, Thunderbird 16.0+, SeaMonkey 2.13+, or the respective ESR versions (10.0.8+) to obtain patched COW/XrayWrapper behavior that properly validates InstallTrigger method failures.

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:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4= 10.0.5= 10.0.6= 10.0.7<= 15.0.1= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2
Thunderbird EsrApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4= 10.0.5= 10.0.6= 10.0.7
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 15.0.1= 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= 1.5= 1.5.0.1
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:<= 2.13= 2.0= 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= 2.0.10

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 installed Mozilla Firefox version
    In Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or enter 'about:support' in the address bar, or run: firefox --version
    Affected if Version is 10.0 through 10.0.7, or 10.0.8-10.0.x (ESR), or 1.0.x, or any version <= 15.0.1 (non-ESR)
  2. Identify installed Mozilla Thunderbird version
    In Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird, or run: thunderbird --version
    Affected if Version is 10.0 through 10.0.7 (ESR), or <= 15.0.1, or 1.0.x, or 1.5.x
  3. Identify installed SeaMonkey version
    In SeaMonkey, go to Help > About SeaMonkey, or run: seamonkey --version
    Affected if Version is 2.0 through 2.0.10, or <= 2.13
  4. Verify if InstallTrigger and COW/XrayWrapper are in use
    This is a code-level check: inspect whether the application uses the Chrome Object Wrapper (COW) with InstallTrigger methods. This is internal to the browser and not directly configurable by users.
    Affected if The product uses COW with InstallTrigger and the version is in the affected list above

The environment is affected if any Mozilla product (Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey) is installed with a version matching the specific affected version ranges listed in the CVE.

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 15.0.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 16.0+, Thunderbird 16.0+, SeaMonkey 2.13+, or the respective ESR versions (10.0.8+) to obtain patched COW/XrayWrapper behavior that properly validates InstallTrigger method failures.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Firefox 16.0+, Firefox ESR 10.0.8+, Thunderbird 16.0+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.8+, or SeaMonkey 2.13+ depending on product in use

  1. Identify which Mozilla product is affected (Firefox, Thunderbird, Thunderbird ESR, or SeaMonkey)
  2. For Firefox: upgrade to version 16.0 or later
  3. For Firefox ESR 10.x: upgrade to version 10.0.8 or later
  4. For Thunderbird: upgrade to version 16.0 or later
  5. For Thunderbird ESR 10.x: upgrade to version 10.0.8 or later
  6. For SeaMonkey: upgrade to version 2.13 or later
  7. Verify the installed version by checking the application's About dialog
Caveat Ensure compatibility with web applications as newer versions may drop support for older APIs; test in non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,384.

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-2012-3993 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