FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2013-1731
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in the GL tracing functionality in Mozilla Firefox before 24.0 on Android allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Trojan horse .so file in a world-writable directory.
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 confidenceThe GL tracing functionality in Firefox for Android versions before 24.0 loads shared libraries (.so files) from directories without validating the full path, allowing an attacker to place a maliciously named .so file in a world-writable directory that gets loaded when the application executes the GL tracing feature, resulting in arbitrary code execution.
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
<= 23.0.1= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 20.0.1= 21.0= 22.0= 23.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Identify if Firefox for Android is installedCheck the device's installed applications for 'Firefox' or 'Mozilla Firefox' specifically the Android mobile version (not desktop Firefox). On Android, this can be done via Settings > Apps > Downloaded, or by checking /data/app/ for packages containing 'firefox' in the name.Affected if Firefox for Android is installed and the vulnerable mobile version is in use rather than desktop Firefox.
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Determine the installed Firefox for Android versionOpen Firefox for Android, navigate to Settings > Help > About Firefox, or check the version via the app package manager (pm dump <package> | grep versionName). Compare the version number against the affected list: 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 20.0, 20.0.1, 21.0, 22.0, 23.0, or any version <= 23.0.1.Affected if The installed version matches any version listed in the affected products and versions.
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Check if GL tracing feature is enabledIn Firefox for Android, navigate to the hidden GL tracing settings. This feature is typically accessed through the browser's developer tools or hidden configuration flags (about:config). Look for settings related to 'GL tracing' or 'webgl trace' functionality.Affected if GL tracing functionality is enabled or has been used, as this is the specific feature that loads .so files from unvalidated directories.
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Verify presence in world-writable directoriesCheck if the device or application runs from or accesses world-writable directories (such as /sdcard/, /tmp/, or app-specific external storage) where a maliciously named .so file could be placed. Use 'ls -la' or a file manager to identify directories with write permissions for all users.Affected if The device has world-writable directories accessible to the Firefox for Android process, which would allow an attacker to place a malicious library for the GL tracing feature to load.
A user is affected if Firefox for Android is installed with a version from 19.0 through 23.0 (or <= 23.0.1), the GL tracing feature has been enabled or used, and the device has accessible world-writable directories where a malicious .so file could be placed and loaded.
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 dataUpdate Firefox for Android to version 24.0 or later, which contains the fix for this untrusted search path vulnerability. Users should avoid running applications from or accessing world-writable directories.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1731 — 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-2013-1731 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
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