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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2014-1478

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-02-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.24 / 27.0 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
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 27.0 and SeaMonkey before 2.24 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via vectors related to the MPostWriteBarrier class in js/src/jit/MIR.h and stack alignment in js/src/jit/AsmJS.cpp in OdinMonkey, and unknown other vectors.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox and SeaMonkey browser engine affecting versions before 27.0 and 2.24 respectively. The flaw exists in the MPostWriteBarrier class in js/src/jit/MIR.h and stack alignment issues in js/src/jit/AsmJS.cpp (OdionMonkey), allowing remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via crafted web content.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 27.0 or later, or SeaMonkey 2.24 or later. Apply available security patches from Mozilla if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

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:< 27.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 12.04= 12.10= 13.10
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:< 2.24
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 11.4= 12.3= 13.1
SolarisOperating system
Affected:= 11.3

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. Identify Firefox browser version
    Open Firefox, click the menu button, select Help, then About Firefox. Alternatively, run 'firefox --version' from command line or check /usr/lib/firefox/version.txt
    Affected if Installed version is earlier than 27.0
  2. Identify SeaMonkey browser version
    Open SeaMonkey, click the menu, select Help, then About SeaMonkey. Alternatively, run 'seamonkey --version' from command line
    Affected if Installed version is earlier than 2.24
  3. Confirm JavaScript JIT compilation is enabled
    In Firefox address bar, type 'about:config', search for 'javascript.options.jit' and verify the value is set to true (enabled by default)
    Affected if JavaScript JIT is enabled and browser version is below the fixed release

You are affected if you run Firefox below version 27.0 or SeaMonkey below version 2.24 with JavaScript JIT compilation enabled and browse the web.

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 2.24 / 27.0 or later
Fixed in 2.2427.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 27.0 or later, or SeaMonkey 2.24 or later. Apply available security patches from Mozilla if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 27.0+ or SeaMonkey 2.24+ (note: these are very old versions; consider upgrading to current stable releases for additional security)

  1. Upgrade Mozilla Firefox to version 27.0 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
  2. If using SeaMonkey, upgrade to version 2.24 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
  3. Restart the browser after upgrade
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the browser's about/help section for version information
Caveat Very old - upgrading from Firefox <27 to current versions may have compatibility impacts with legacy plugins/extensions

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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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-2014-1478 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