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Network Security ServicesApplication · Mozilla

CVE-2013-5606

MEDIUM · 5.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-11-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
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
The CERT_VerifyCert function in lib/certhigh/certvfy.c in Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) 3.15 before 3.15.3 provides an unexpected return value for an incompatible key-usage certificate when the CERTVerifyLog argument is valid, which might allow remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via a crafted certificate.

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

The CERT_VerifyCert function in NSS 3.15.x before 3.15.3 returns an unexpected value when validating certificates with incompatible key usage, specifically when a valid CERTVerifyLog argument is provided. This causes the function to appear successful when it should fail, potentially allowing attackers with crafted certificates to bypass access restrictions that depend on proper certificate validation.

MitigationUpgrade NSS to version 3.15.3 or later. Applications and systems using the affected NSS library versions should be identified and patched to prevent potential access restriction bypasses.

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= 3.15.1= 3.15.2

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N

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 version
    Run 'nss --version' or check the NSS library file (e.g., libnss3.so) using 'pkg-config --modversion nss' or 'strings libnss3.so | grep '^3\.' on Linux systems'
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 3.15, 3.15.1, or 3.15.2
  2. Confirm application uses CERT_VerifyCert
    Review application source code or binary to determine if it calls the CERT_VerifyCert function for certificate validation
    Affected if The application calls CERT_VerifyCert to validate certificates
  3. Check for CERTVerifyLog usage
    Inspect the application code to determine if a valid CERTVerifyLog structure is passed as the log parameter to CERT_VerifyCert
    Affected if A non-null CERTVerifyLog argument is provided to CERT_VerifyCert when validating certificates
  4. Identify certificate validation scenarios
    Monitor or review logs to identify if certificates with key usage extensions are being validated, particularly certificates where key usage is incompatible with the intended purpose (e.g., signing-only keys used for encryption)
    Affected if The application validates certificates with potentially incompatible key usage using the affected NSS versions

You are affected if NSS version is exactly 3.15, 3.15.1, or 3.15.2 AND your application uses CERT_VerifyCert with a valid CERTVerifyLog argument to validate certificates with incompatible key usage.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade NSS to version 3.15.3 or later. Applications and systems using the affected NSS library versions should be identified and patched to prevent potential access restriction bypasses.

Fix this in Network Security Services Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2013-5606 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
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