FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2013-0799

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-04-03

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 19.0.2 or later.

See remediation →

77/100

Remediation priority · High

No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Buffer overflow in the Mozilla Maintenance Service in Mozilla Firefox before 20.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.5, Thunderbird before 17.0.5, and Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.5 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via crafted arguments.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the Mozilla Maintenance Service on Windows allows local unprivileged users to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges via crafted command-line arguments. The flaw exists in how the service handles arguments passed to it, leading to heap-based buffer overflow that can be exploited for local privilege escalation.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied updates: upgrade Firefox to 20.0 or later, Firefox ESR to 17.0.5 or later, Thunderbird to 17.0.5 or later, or Thunderbird ESR to 17.0.5 or later. Alternatively, disable the Mozilla Maintenance Service if not required.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

FirefoxWeb browser

Affected:<= 19.0.2= 19.0= 19.0.1= 17.0= 17.0.1= 17.0.2= 17.0.3= 17.0.4

ThunderbirdApplication

Affected:= 17.0= 17.0.1= 17.0.2= 17.0.3= 17.0.4

Thunderbird EsrApplication

Affected:= 17.0= 17.0.1= 17.0.2= 17.0.3= 17.0.4

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Authentication: None
Confidentiality: Complete
Integrity: Complete
Availability: Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Verify Windows operating system

Check if the system is running Windows. This vulnerability only affects Windows hosts. Run 'systeminfo' on Windows or check the OS name.

Affected if The system is running Windows and the Mozilla Maintenance Service is installed.
Locate the Mozilla Maintenance Service

On Windows, check if the Mozilla Maintenance Service exists. Look for 'Mozilla Maintenance Service' in Windows Services (services.msc) or check for the service binary in the Firefox or Thunderbird installation directory.

Affected if The Mozilla Maintenance Service is present on the system.
Check installed Firefox version

Open Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or check the version from the Windows registry under HKLM\Software\Mozilla\Mozilla Firefox\CurrentVersion or HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Mozilla Firefox\CurrentVersion.

Affected if The installed Firefox version is 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, or any 17.0.x version through 17.0.4.
Check installed Thunderbird version

Open Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird, or check the version from the Windows registry under HKLM\Software\Mozilla\Thunderbird\Version or HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Thunderbird\Version.

Affected if The installed Thunderbird version (standard or ESR) is 17.0, 17.0.1, 17.0.2, 17.0.3, or 17.0.4.
Confirm the Maintenance Service is running

Open Services (services.msc), locate 'Mozilla Maintenance Service', and check its Status column. It is running if Status shows 'Running'.

Affected if The Mozilla Maintenance Service is installed and currently running on a vulnerable Firefox or Thunderbird version.

A user is affected if running Windows with Firefox versions 19.0-19.0.2 or 17.0-17.0.4, or Thunderbird/Thunderbird ESR versions 17.0-17.0.4, and the Mozilla Maintenance Service is installed and running.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 19.0.2

Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied updates: upgrade Firefox to 20.0 or later, Firefox ESR to 17.0.5 or later, Thunderbird to 17.0.5 or later, or Thunderbird ESR to 17.0.5 or later. Alternatively, disable the Mozilla Maintenance Service if not required.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation1.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

6.0 hours of engineering $1,060

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-0799 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2013-0799?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 19.0.2 or later

Severity 7.2 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.4%

Affects: Firefox

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Firefox 6 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,060

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2013-0799 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References