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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-4179

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.8 / 16.0 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
Use-after-free vulnerability in the nsHTMLCSSUtils::CreateCSSPropertyTxn function 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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey's nsHTMLCSSUtils::CreateCSSPropertyTxn function allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause heap memory corruption via unspecified vectors involving CSS property transaction handling.

MitigationUpgrade affected products to Firefox 16.0+, Thunderbird 16.0+, SeaMonkey 2.13+, or Firefox/Thunderbird ESR 10.0.8+ to obtain vendor patches.

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:< 10.0.8< 16.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.04= 11.04= 11.10= 12.04
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 6.0
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
Affected:= 6.3
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Thunderbird EsrApplication
Affected:< 10.0.8

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 product
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep -E "firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey"' on Debian/Ubuntu, or 'rpm -qa | grep -E "firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey"' on RHEL/CentOS, or check Program Files on Windows
    Affected if No Mozilla product found means not applicable; if found, proceed to version check
  2. Check Firefox version
    Run 'firefox --version' or 'firefox -v' from command line, or look at Help > About in the Firefox UI
    Affected if Version is less than 10.0.8 OR between 10.0.8 and 15.x (i.e., < 16.0) indicates vulnerability
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    Run 'thunderbird --version' or 'thunderbird -v' from command line, or look at Help > About in the Thunderbird UI
    Affected if Version is less than 10.0.8 indicates vulnerability (ESR versions < 10.0.8)
  4. Check SeaMonkey version
    Run 'seamonkey --version' or look at Help > About in SeaMonkey UI
    Affected if Version is less than 2.13 indicates vulnerability

You are affected if you have Firefox < 10.0.8 or Firefox 10.0.8-15.x, Thunderbird ESR < 10.0.8, or SeaMonkey < 2.13 installed and actively using the application.

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 10.0.8 / 16.0 or later
Fixed in 10.0.816.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade affected products to Firefox 16.0+, Thunderbird 16.0+, SeaMonkey 2.13+, or Firefox/Thunderbird ESR 10.0.8+ to obtain vendor patches.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 16.0+ (or Firefox ESR 10.0.8+); Thunderbird 16.0+ (or Thunderbird ESR 10.0.8+); SeaMonkey 2.13+

  1. Identify the installed Mozilla product (Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey) and its current version using the application's 'About' menu or command line (e.g., firefox --version, thunderbird --version)
  2. If running Firefox ESR 10.x, upgrade to Firefox ESR 10.0.8 or later
  3. If running Firefox (non-ESR) below 16.0, upgrade to Firefox 16.0 or later
  4. If running Thunderbird ESR 10.x, upgrade to Thunderbird ESR 10.0.8 or later
  5. If running Thunderbird (non-ESR) below 16.0, upgrade to Thunderbird 16.0 or later
  6. If running SeaMonkey below 2.13, upgrade to SeaMonkey 2.13 or later
  7. Use the operating system's package manager to update (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade for Debian/Ubuntu, yum update for RHEL/CentOS) or download directly from mozilla.org
  8. Restart the application after upgrade to ensure the new version is active
Caveat Minor: Some older Firefox/Thunderbird extensions may be incompatible with major version jumps; verify extension compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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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-2012-4179 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