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Network Security ServicesApplication · Mozilla

CVE-2013-1739

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-10-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.15.1 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) before 3.15.2 does not ensure that data structures are initialized before read operations, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors that trigger a decryption failure.

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

Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) before version 3.15.2 fails to ensure data structures are initialized before read operations. This vulnerability can be triggered by remote attackers through vectors that cause decryption failures, potentially leading to denial of service or unspecified other impact due to reads of uninitialized memory.

MitigationUpdate NSS library to version 3.15.2 or later, which includes proper initialization of data structures before read operations. Verify all cryptographic operations continue to function correctly after the update.

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
Network Security ServicesApplication
Affected:<= 3.15.1= 3.12= 3.12.1= 3.12.2= 3.12.3= 3.12.3.1= 3.12.3.2= 3.12.4= 3.12.5= 3.12.6= 3.12.7= 3.12.8

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify NSS library files present on the system
    Search for NSS library files such as libnss3.so on Linux or NSS3.dll on Windows. Common locations include /usr/lib, /usr/lib64, /lib, /lib64, or C:\Windows\System32. Use commands like 'find /usr -name "libnss*" 2>/dev/null' on Linux or check the Windows system directory.
    Affected if NSS library files exist on the system and the version is 3.15.1 or earlier, or matches any of the affected 3.12.x versions listed.
  2. Determine the installed NSS version
    Run 'nss-config --version' if the nss-config utility is installed, or use 'strings libnss3.so | grep "NSS"' to extract version strings from the library file. On Windows, use a tool like 'strings' or a DLL version checker to read the version resource.
    Affected if The reported version number is 3.15.1 or lower, or exactly matches any of these: 3.12, 3.12.1, 3.12.2, 3.12.3, 3.12.3.1, 3.12.3.2, 3.12.4, 3.12.5, 3.12.6, 3.12.7, or 3.12.8.
  3. Identify applications or services that link against NSS
    Use 'ldd' on Linux to see which executables are linked to libnss3.so, or on Windows use a dependency walker tool. Common applications include browsers like Firefox, Thunderbird, and server software that performs TLS/SSL operations.
    Affected if Any application using NSS for cryptographic operations (particularly TLS/SSL decryption) is present and connects to remote servers or processes encrypted data.
  4. Verify NSS is used for TLS/SSL operations
    Check configuration files of applications using NSS (such as web servers, mail servers, or browsers) for SSL/TLS enabled configurations. Review whether these applications accept incoming TLS connections or make outbound secure connections.
    Affected if Any application is configured to perform TLS/SSL handshake or decryption operations using the NSS library.
  5. Confirm the vulnerability trigger condition
    The flaw is triggered when decryption failures occur, causing the code to read uninitialized memory. This can happen during TLS/SSL sessions with malformed data or specific cryptographic failure conditions.
    Affected if The system processes TLS/SSL traffic where decryption errors can occur, which is inherent in normal TLS/SSL operation.

You are affected if the installed NSS library version is 3.15.1 or earlier, or matches any of the specific affected 3.12.x versions (3.12 through 3.12.8), and any application uses NSS for TLS/SSL operations.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.15.1
Interim mitigation

Update NSS library to version 3.15.2 or later, which includes proper initialization of data structures before read operations. Verify all cryptographic operations continue to function correctly after the update.

Fix this in Network Security Services Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
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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-2013-1739 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