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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2013-1738

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 23.0.1 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 JS_GetGlobalForScopeChain function in Mozilla Firefox before 24.0, Thunderbird before 24.0, and SeaMonkey before 2.21 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by leveraging incorrect garbage collection in situations involving default compartments and frame-chain restoration.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in the JS_GetGlobalForScopeChain function in Mozilla's JavaScript engine (SpiderMonkey) allows remote code execution through incorrect garbage collection handling when default compartments and frame-chain restoration interact.

MitigationUpgrade affected Mozilla products to version 24.0 or later (Firefox 24.0+, Thunderbird 24.0+, SeaMonkey 2.21+).

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:<= 23.0.1= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 20.0.1= 21.0= 22.0= 23.0
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:<= 2.20= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.0.8= 2.0.9= 2.0.10
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.9= 17.0= 17.0.1= 17.0.2= 17.0.3= 17.0.4= 17.0.5= 17.0.6= 17.0.7= 17.0.8

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Mozilla product
    Check which Mozilla application is installed on the system: Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey. On Windows, look in Program Files; on Linux, check /usr/bin or package manager; on macOS, check /Applications.
    Affected if Any of Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey is installed
  2. Check Firefox version
    Run 'firefox --version' from command line, or open Firefox and navigate to Help > About Firefox to view the version number.
    Affected if Version is 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 20.0, 20.0.1, 21.0, 22.0, 23.0, or 23.0.1 (or any version <= 23.0.1)
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    Run 'thunderbird --version' from command line, or open Thunderbird and navigate to Help > About Thunderbird to view the version number.
    Affected if Version is 17.0 through 17.0.8, or 17.0.9 (or any version <= 17.0.9)
  4. Check SeaMonkey version
    Open SeaMonkey and navigate to Help > About SeaMonkey to view the version number, or run 'seamonkey --version' if available.
    Affected if Version is 2.0 through 2.0.10, or any version <= 2.20

The environment is affected if any installed Firefox version is 23.0.1 or lower, any Thunderbird version is 17.0.9 or lower, or any SeaMonkey version is 2.20 or lower.

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 23.0.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade affected Mozilla products to version 24.0 or later (Firefox 24.0+, Thunderbird 24.0+, SeaMonkey 2.21+).

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 24.0+, Thunderbird 24.0+, or SeaMonkey 2.21+

  1. 1. Identify which Mozilla product is installed (Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey) and the current version
  2. 2. For Firefox: upgrade to version 24.0 or later
  3. 3. For Thunderbird: upgrade to version 24.0 or later
  4. 4. For SeaMonkey: upgrade to version 2.21 or later
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,460
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,536.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2013-1738 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