FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2013-1688
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 · uneditedThe Profiler implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 22.0 parses untrusted data during UI rendering, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code via a crafted web site.
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 confidenceA cross-site scripting vulnerability exists in Mozilla Firefox's Profiler implementation (versions before 22.0) where untrusted data is parsed and rendered in the UI without proper sanitization, allowing arbitrary JavaScript code execution when a user visits a specially crafted website.
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
<= 21.0= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 20.0.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check your Firefox versionOpen Firefox, click the menu button, select Help, then About Firefox. The version number is displayed on this page.Affected if The version is 21.0 or lower, specifically 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 20.0, or 20.0.1.
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Identify if the Profiler feature is accessibleIn the address bar, type 'about:profiler' and press Enter. This page loads the Firefox Profiler interface.Affected if The Profiler page loads successfully, indicating the feature is enabled and accessible in your browser.
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Verify the attack vector conditionsConfirm that JavaScript is enabled in your browser settings (this is the default configuration). The vulnerability triggers when visiting a specially crafted website.Affected if JavaScript execution is enabled and you browse the web, meaning any visit to a malicious site could trigger the XSS flaw in the Profiler.
You are affected if your Firefox version is 21.0 or lower (19.0.x through 20.0.1) and the Profiler feature is accessible, as the XSS vulnerability exists in how the Profiler handles untrusted data rendered from visited websites.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade to Firefox 22.0 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, disable the Profiler feature or restrict JavaScript execution through browser security settings as a temporary workaround.
Firefox 22.0 or later
- Backup any important data such as bookmarks and passwords
- Close all running instances of Mozilla Firefox
- Download Firefox 22.0 or later from the official Mozilla website (https://www.mozilla.org/)
- Install the updated Firefox version
- Restart Firefox and verify the version number in Help > About Firefox
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1688 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1688 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
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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.
- 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