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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2013-5601

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-10-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 24.0.1 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 nsEventListenerManager::SetEventHandler function in Mozilla Firefox before 25.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.10 and 24.x before 24.1, Thunderbird before 24.1, Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.10, and SeaMonkey before 2.22 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a memory allocation through the garbage collection (GC) API.

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 Mozilla's nsEventListenerManager::SetEventHandler function where memory allocated through the garbage collection API is freed while still being referenced. Attackers can exploit this to execute arbitrary code by triggering specific memory allocation patterns through the GC API.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 25.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.10+/24.1+, Thunderbird 24.1+/Thunderbird ESR 17.0.10+, or SeaMonkey 2.22+.

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:<= 24.0= 19.0= 19.0.1= 19.0.2= 20.0= 20.0.1= 21.0= 22.0= 23.0= 23.0.1= 17.0= 17.0.1
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:<= 2.22= 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:<= 24.0.1= 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= 24.0
Thunderbird EsrApplication
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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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. Check Firefox version
    Navigate to Firefox menu > Help > About Firefox, or enter 'about:support' in the address bar to view the version number
    Affected if The installed version is 17.0, 17.0.1, 19.0, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 20.0, 20.0.1, 21.0, 22.0, 23.0, 23.0.1, 24.0, or any version lower than 24.0
  2. Check SeaMonkey version
    Navigate to SeaMonkey menu > Help > About SeaMonkey to view the version number
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0 through 2.0.10, or any version 2.22 or lower
  3. Check Thunderbird version
    Navigate to Thunderbird menu > Help > About Thunderbird to view the version number
    Affected if The installed version is 17.0 through 17.0.8, 24.0, 24.0.1, or any version lower than 24.0.1
  4. Check Thunderbird ESR version
    Navigate to Thunderbird menu > Help > About Thunderbird to view the version number, ESR status is typically displayed in the about window
    Affected if The installed version is 17.0 through 17.0.9

A user is affected if they are running any of the vulnerable Firefox, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird, or Thunderbird ESR versions listed in the affected version ranges.

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 24.0.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 25.0+, Firefox ESR 17.0.10+/24.1+, Thunderbird 24.1+/Thunderbird ESR 17.0.10+, or SeaMonkey 2.22+.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox: 25.0 or later (or ESR 17.0.10+ / ESR 24.1+); Thunderbird: 24.1 or later (or ESR 17.0.10+); SeaMonkey: 2.22 or later

  1. 1. Identify the exact Mozilla product and version currently installed (Firefox, Firefox ESR, Thunderbird, Thunderbird ESR, or SeaMonkey)
  2. 2. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Mozilla website or your organization's software repository
  3. 3. Close all instances of the affected Mozilla product
  4. 4. Install the fixed version: For Firefox, upgrade to 25.0 or later; For Firefox ESR 17.x, upgrade to 17.0.10 or later; For Firefox ESR 24.x, upgrade to 24.1 or later; For Thunderbird, upgrade to 24.1 or later; For Thunderbird ESR 17.x, upgrade to 17.0.10 or later; For SeaMonkey, upgrade to 2.22 or later
  5. 5. Restart the application after installation
  6. 6. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release
Caveat Upgrading to newer major versions may introduce changes to user interface, extensions/add-ons compatibility, or sync settings; ensure extension compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2013-5601 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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