FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2013-1715
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 · uneditedMultiple untrusted search path vulnerabilities in the (1) full installer and (2) stub installer in Mozilla Firefox before 23.0 on Windows allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the default downloads directory. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2012-4206.
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 confidenceThis is a DLL search order hijacking vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox installers for Windows. The installers (both full and stub versions) search for dynamic link libraries in the default downloads directory before checking system directories. A local attacker can place a malicious DLL in the downloads directory to achieve privilege escalation when a user runs the installer. This issue represents an incomplete fix for the previously reported CVE-2012-4206.
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
<= 22.0= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 20.0.1= 21.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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.
-
Check installed Firefox versionOpen Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or run 'firefox --version' from command line. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs or the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Mozilla Firefox\CurrentVersionAffected if The installed version is 22.0 or earlier, specifically 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 20.0, 20.0.1, or 21.0
-
Identify default downloads locationOpen Firefox, type 'about:preferences' in the address bar, scroll to Downloads section to see the default save location. Also check Windows shell folders at HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders for 'Personal' valueAffected if The downloads directory is set to a user-writable location that could be accessed by other local users
-
Check for unknown DLLs in downloads folderOpen the identified downloads directory in File Explorer, enable 'View > Hidden items' and 'View > File name extensions', look for DLL files (typically .dll extension) that you do not recognize or did not downloadAffected if Any unrecognized DLL files exist in the downloads directory, especially with common Windows DLL names like ntdll.dll, user32.dll, or kernel32.dll
-
Review recent installer usageCheck Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Application and Security for recent 'Windows Installer' events, or manually review the downloads folder for any Firefox installer executables (.exe files)Affected if Firefox installers were recently run directly from the downloads folder
You are affected if Firefox version 19.0 through 22.0 is installed and there is a possibility that installers were run from or the downloads directory is accessible to a local attacker.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade Firefox to version 23.0 or later. As a temporary workaround, ensure the downloads directory is not writable by untrusted users and run installers from a secure, controlled location rather than directly from the downloads folder.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1715 — 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-2013-1715 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
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.
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