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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2015-2738

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-07-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 38.1.0 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
The YCbCrImageDataDeserializer::ToDataSourceSurface function in the YCbCr implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 39.0, Firefox ESR 31.x before 31.8 and 38.x before 38.1, and Thunderbird before 38.1 reads data from uninitialized memory locations, which has unspecified impact and attack 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

A memory disclosure vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird allows the YCbCrImageDataDeserializer::ToDataSourceSurface function to read from uninitialized memory locations in the YCbCr color space image processing implementation. This could potentially be exploited for information disclosure or to facilitate arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to the patched versions: Firefox 39.0+, Firefox ESR 31.8+, Firefox ESR 38.1+, or Thunderbird 38.1+. Apply via standard software update mechanisms or enterprise patch management.

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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 12.04= 14.04= 14.10= 15.04
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0
FirefoxWeb browser
Affected:<= 38.1.0= 31.0= 31.1.0= 31.1.1= 31.3.0= 31.5.1= 31.5.2= 31.5.3= 38.0
Firefox EsrWeb browser
Affected:= 31.1= 31.2= 31.3= 31.4= 31.5= 31.6.0= 31.7.0
Linux Enterprise DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 12
Linux Enterprise ServerOperating system
Affected:= 11
Linux Enterprise Software Development KitOperating system
Affected:= 12
Suse Linux Enterprise ServerOperating system
Affected:= 12

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 installed Mozilla product
    Run command 'which firefox' or 'which thunderbird' to locate binaries; on Windows check Program Files folder; on Linux use package manager: dpkg -l | grep -E 'firefox|thunderbird' or rpm -qa | grep -E 'firefox|thunderbird'
    Affected if Firefox or Thunderbird executable is present on the system
  2. Check Firefox version number
    Run 'firefox --version' in terminal, or on Windows run 'firefox.exe -version', or open Firefox and navigate to Help > About Firefox
    Affected if Version returned is 38.1.0 or lower, or matches exactly: 31.0, 31.1.0, 31.1.1, 31.3.0, 31.5.1, 31.5.2, 31.5.3, or 38.0
  3. Check Firefox ESR version number
    Run 'firefox --version' and confirm ESR status from the version string, or open Help > About Firefox and look for 'ESR' label
    Affected if ESR version is 31.1, 31.2, 31.3, 31.4, 31.5, 31.6.0, or 31.7.0
  4. Check Thunderbird version number
    Run 'thunderbird --version' in terminal, or open Thunderbird and navigate to Help > About Thunderbird
    Affected if Thunderbird version is 38.0.5 or lower, or any version before the patched 38.1 release
  5. Identify Linux distribution and version if using bundled packages
    Run 'lsb_release -a' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to check distribution; for SUSE check 'cat /etc/SuSE-release'
    Affected if System runs Ubuntu 12.04, 14.04, 14.10, or 15.04, Debian 7.0 or 8.0, or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop/Server 11 or 12 with vulnerable Mozilla package versions

Environment is affected if Firefox version is 38.1.0 or lower (including specific listed versions), Firefox ESR is 31.1 through 31.7.0, or Thunderbird is 38.0.5 or lower, or if running a listed Linux distribution with the vulnerable Mozilla packages installed.

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 38.1.0
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to the patched versions: Firefox 39.0+, Firefox ESR 31.8+, Firefox ESR 38.1+, or Thunderbird 38.1+. Apply via standard software update mechanisms or enterprise patch management.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 39.0 or later, Firefox ESR 31.8 or later, or Firefox ESR 38.1 or later

  1. Update your system's package repository by running: sudo apt-get update (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum update (Red Hat/SUSE)
  2. Upgrade Firefox to version 39.0 or later, or Firefox ESR to version 31.8 or later (for ESR 31.x) or 38.1 or later (for ESR 38.x)
  3. On Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install firefox firefox-esr
  4. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux: sudo yum update firefox
  5. On SUSE: sudo zypper patch
  6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About Firefox
  7. Restart the browser to apply the update

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

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux 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
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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-2015-2738 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