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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2013-1678

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-05-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 20.0.1 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 _cairo_xlib_surface_add_glyph function in Mozilla Firefox before 21.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.6, Thunderbird before 17.0.6, and Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (invalid write operation) 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

The _cairo_xlib_surface_add_glyph function in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird contains a memory corruption vulnerability allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service through invalid write operations. The vulnerability exists in the Cairo graphics library's XLib surface handling for glyph rendering.

MitigationUpdate all affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 21.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.6+, Thunderbird 17.0.6+, or Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+. In enterprise environments, deploy the updates through standard patch management processes.

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:<= 20.0.1= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 17.0= 17.0.1= 17.0.2= 17.0.3= 17.0.4= 17.0.5
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.5= 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= 17.0.5

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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. Check Firefox version
    Run 'firefox --version' or go to Help > About Firefox in the application menu
    Affected if Version is 17.0 through 17.0.5, 19.0 through 19.0.2, or 20.0 through 20.0.1 (including <= versions)
  2. Check Thunderbird version
    Run 'thunderbird --version' or go to Help > About Thunderbird in the application menu
    Affected if Version is 17.0 through 17.0.5 (including <= 17.0.5)
  3. Verify X11/XLib display server is in use
    Check if the DISPLAY environment variable is set (echo $DISPLAY) or if running a graphical X11 session
    Affected if The application is running with X11 display (DISPLAY variable set) - this enables the vulnerable Cairo XLib surface code path
  4. Confirm Cairo rendering is active for glyphs
    This is enabled by default in affected versions when X11 is in use; no manual config needed - the vulnerability triggers during font/glyph rendering
    Affected if Firefox or Thunderbird renders any web page or email content with text while using an X11 display server

A user is affected if they run Firefox 17.0-17.0.5, 19.0-19.0.2, 20.0-20.0.1, or Thunderbird 17.0-17.0.5 on an X11 display server where the Cairo graphics library processes glyph rendering.

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 20.0.1
Interim mitigation

Update all affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 21.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.6+, Thunderbird 17.0.6+, or Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+. In enterprise environments, deploy the updates through standard patch management processes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 21.0+ / Firefox ESR 17.0.6+ / Thunderbird 17.0.6+ / Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+

  1. Identify which Mozilla product is installed (Firefox, Firefox ESR, Thunderbird, or Thunderbird ESR)
  2. For Firefox users: Download and install Firefox 21.0 or later from the official Mozilla website
  3. For Firefox ESR 17.x users: Upgrade to Firefox ESR 17.0.6 or later
  4. For Thunderbird users: Upgrade to Thunderbird 17.0.6 or later
  5. For Thunderbird ESR 17.x users: Upgrade to Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6 or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the installed version in Help > About to confirm the fix is applied

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,288.

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-2013-1678 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