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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-4205

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-11-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.14 / 17.0 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Mozilla Firefox before 17.0, Thunderbird before 17.0, and SeaMonkey before 2.14 assign the system principal, rather than the sandbox principal, to XMLHttpRequest objects created in sandboxes, which allows remote attackers to conduct cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks or obtain sensitive information by leveraging a sandboxed add-on.

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

XMLHttpRequest objects created within JavaScript sandboxes were incorrectly assigned the system principal (full privileges) instead of the restricted sandbox principal. This privilege escalation allowed sandboxed code to make privileged network requests, enabling CSRF attacks or unauthorized access to sensitive information through add-ons.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 17.0+, Thunderbird 17.0+, or SeaMonkey 2.14+ to obtain the patch that correctly assigns sandbox principals to XMLHttpRequest objects.

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:< 17.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.04= 11.10= 12.04= 12.10
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:< 2.14
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:< 17.0
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 11.4= 12.1= 12.2
Linux Enterprise DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 10= 11
Linux Enterprise ServerOperating system
Affected:= 10= 11
Linux Enterprise Software Development KitOperating system
Affected:= 11

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 command to determine which Mozilla product is installed: rpm -qa | grep -E 'firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey' (RPM) or dpkg -l | grep -E 'firefox|thunderbird|seamonkey' (Debian). Alternatively, check the application version through its Help > About menu.
    Affected if product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey
  2. Check Firefox version against affected range
    Run: firefox --version or check /usr/lib/firefox/platform.ini for version string. Compare to affected range: < 17.0
    Affected if Firefox version is lower than 17.0
  3. Check Thunderbird version against affected range
    Run: thunderbird --version or check /usr/lib/thunderbird/platform.ini for version string. Compare to affected range: < 17.0
    Affected if Thunderbird version is lower than 17.0
  4. Check SeaMonkey version against affected range
    Run: seamonkey --version or check /usr/lib/seamonkey/platform.ini for version string. Compare to affected range: < 2.14
    Affected if SeaMonkey version is lower than 2.14

A user is affected if they have Firefox < 17.0, Thunderbird < 17.0, or SeaMonkey < 2.14 installed AND they use add-ons or run code that executes JavaScript in sandboxed contexts.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.14 / 17.0 or later
Fixed in 2.1417.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 17.0+, Thunderbird 17.0+, or SeaMonkey 2.14+ to obtain the patch that correctly assigns sandbox principals to XMLHttpRequest objects.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2012-4205 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