FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2016-5272
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 · uneditedThe nsImageGeometryMixin class in Mozilla Firefox before 49.0, Firefox ESR 45.x before 45.4, and Thunderbird < 45.4 does not properly perform a cast of an unspecified variable during handling of INPUT elements, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site.
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 confidenceA type confusion vulnerability in the nsImageGeometryMixin class allows improper casting of an unspecified variable during INPUT element handling in Firefox and Thunderbird, leading to arbitrary code execution via crafted web pages.
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
<= 48.0.2= 45.1.0= 45.1.1= 45.2.0= 45.3.0CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check Firefox version on WindowsOpen Firefox, click the menu button (three horizontal lines), select Help, then About Firefox. The version number is displayed in the window that opens.Affected if The version displayed is 45.1.0, 45.1.1, 45.2.0, 45.3.0, or any version from 45.0 through 48.0.2
-
Check Firefox version on LinuxOpen a terminal and run: firefox --versionAffected if The version displayed is 45.1.0, 45.1.1, 45.2.0, 45.3.0, or any version from 45.0 through 48.0.2
-
Check Thunderbird versionOpen Thunderbird, click the menu button, select Help, then About Thunderbird. The version number is displayed in the window that opens.Affected if The version displayed is 45.1.0, 45.1.1, 45.2.0, 45.3.0, or any version from 45.0 through 48.0.2 (based on the fixed version mention of 45.4)
-
Verify if INPUT element handling is in useThis vulnerability triggers when processing INPUT elements in web content. Any Firefox/Thunderbird instance processing HTML web pages is potentially affected if the version is within the vulnerable range.Affected if The installed version falls within the affected range and the application processes HTML content
You are affected if you are running Firefox versions 45.1.0-45.3.0, 45.0.x, or any Firefox version from 46.x through 48.0.2, or corresponding Thunderbird versions in the 45.x or 48.x range.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate to Firefox 49.0 or later, Firefox ESR 45.4 or later, or Thunderbird 45.4 or later to patch the vulnerable code path.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5272 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5272 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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