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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2013-1679

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
Use-after-free vulnerability in the mozilla::plugins::child::_geturlnotify 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 (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 · moderate confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in the mozilla::plugins::child::_geturlnotify function in Firefox and Thunderbird allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause heap memory corruption by accessing freed memory in the NPAPI plugin URL notification handler.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 21.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.6+, Thunderbird 17.0.6+, or Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+. If patching is not immediately feasible, consider disabling or restricting NPAPI plugins as a temporary workaround.

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. Identify installed Mozilla product
    Check whether Firefox or Thunderbird is installed. On Windows, look in Program Files. On Linux, check /usr/bin/firefox or /usr/bin/thunderbird. On macOS, check /Applications/Firefox.app or /Applications/Thunderbird.app.
    Affected if Product is Firefox or Thunderbird (including Thunderbird ESR)
  2. Check Firefox version
    In Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox. The version number is displayed on this page. Alternatively, enter 'about:support' in the address bar and locate the 'Version' field.
    Affected if Version is 20.0.1 or lower, or matches any of: 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
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    In Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird. The version number is displayed on this page. Alternatively, enter 'about:support' in the address bar and locate the 'Version' field.
    Affected if Version is 17.0.5 or lower, or matches any of: 17.0, 17.0.1, 17.0.2, 17.0.3, 17.0.4 (applies to both standard Thunderbird and Thunderbird ESR)
  4. Confirm NPAPI plugin usage
    In Firefox, go to Add-ons > Plugins. In Thunderbird, go to Tools > Add-ons > Plugins. Review the list of enabled NPAPI plugins (common examples include Java, Flash, Silverlight).
    Affected if One or more NPAPI plugins are installed and set to 'Always Activate' or 'Ask to Activate' - the vulnerability lies in the NPAPI plugin URL notification handler

User is affected if Firefox version is 20.0.1 or lower (including 17.x and 19.x series), or if Thunderbird/Thunderbird ESR version is 17.0.5 or lower, and NPAPI plugins are present in the browser.

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

Upgrade to Firefox 21.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.6+, Thunderbird 17.0.6+, or Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+. If patching is not immediately feasible, consider disabling or restricting NPAPI plugins as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Check current Firefox or Thunderbird version by navigating to Help > About (or running: firefox --version or thunderbird --version)
  2. Backup bookmarks, passwords, and important email data before upgrading
  3. Upgrade Firefox to version 21.0 or later (or ESR 17.0.6 or later for ESR users)
  4. Upgrade Thunderbird to version 17.0.6 or later (or ESR 17.0.6 or later for ESR users)
  5. Verify the installed version matches a fixed release (Firefox 21.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.6+, Thunderbird 17.0.6+, or Thunderbird ESR 17.0.6+)
  6. Restart the application and confirm normal operation
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., Firefox 19 to 21) may have minor compatibility changes with older extensions or add-ons; review add-on compatibility before upgrading

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,920
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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-2013-1679 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