dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2017-5429

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 45.9.0 / 52.1.0 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
Memory safety bugs were reported in Firefox 52, Firefox ESR 45.8, Firefox ESR 52, and Thunderbird 52. Some of these bugs showed evidence of memory corruption and we presume that with enough effort that some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 52.1, Firefox ESR < 45.9, Firefox ESR < 52.1, and Firefox < 53.

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 safety bugs in Firefox and Thunderbird allowed memory corruption that could be exploited for arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability stems from multiple memory handling issues in the affected versions.

MitigationUpdate affected installations to Firefox 53 or later, Firefox ESR 45.9/52.1 or later, or Thunderbird 52.1 or later to remediate this critical vulnerability.

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
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0
FirefoxWeb browser
Affected:< 45.9.0< 53.0= 52.0
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:< 52.1.0

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Firefox version
    Run: firefox --version OR look at Help > About Firefox in the application menu
    Affected if Version is less than 45.9.0, OR between 45.9.0 and 52.0 (inclusive), OR exactly 52.0. The fixed version is 53.0 or later.
  2. Check installed Thunderbird version
    Run: thunderbird --version OR look at Help > About Thunderbird in the application menu
    Affected if Version is less than 52.1.0. The fixed version is 52.1.0 or later.
  3. Check for Firefox ESR version
    Run: firefox --version and note if it is an ESR (Extended Support Release) build. ESR versions are labeled as such in the application.
    Affected if Firefox ESR version is less than 45.9 ESR OR less than 52.1 ESR.
  4. Verify Firefox is actually in use
    Confirm Firefox browser is installed and executable on the system by running: which firefox
    Affected if Firefox is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges listed above.

A user is affected if Firefox version is less than 53.0 (or less than 45.9 ESR / 52.1 ESR for ESR releases) OR Thunderbird version is less than 52.1.0.

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 45.9.0 / 52.1.0 / 53.0 or later
Fixed in 45.9.052.1.053.0
Interim mitigation

Update affected installations to Firefox 53 or later, Firefox ESR 45.9/52.1 or later, or Thunderbird 52.1 or later to remediate this critical vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox >= 53 (or Firefox ESR >= 45.9 or >= 52.1 depending on ESR branch); Thunderbird >= 52.1

  1. Identify the currently installed Firefox or Thunderbird version using 'firefox --version' or 'thunderbird --version'
  2. For Fedora/RHEL/CentOS systems: Run 'sudo dnf update firefox thunderbird' or 'sudo yum update firefox thunderbird' to install the latest available security update
  3. For Debian/Ubuntu systems: Run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install firefox thunderbird' to get the latest package versions
  4. If using Firefox ESR: Ensure upgrade to ESR 45.9+, ESR 52.1+, or latest ESR release
  5. If using Thunderbird: Ensure upgrade to version 52.1 or later
  6. If using Firefox (non-ESR): Ensure upgrade to version 53 or later
  7. Restart the browser/application after update completes
  8. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version using 'firefox --version' or 'thunderbird --version'
Caveat Major version upgrades may cause incompatibility with older browser extensions/add-ons; test critical workflows after upgrading

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2017-5429 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