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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2017-7798

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 52.3.0 / 55.0 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 Developer Tools feature suffers from a XUL injection vulnerability due to improper sanitization of the web page source code. In the worst case, this could allow arbitrary code execution when opening a malicious page with the style editor tool. This vulnerability affects Firefox ESR < 52.3 and Firefox < 55.

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 Firefox Developer Tools (specifically the Style Editor) has a XUL injection vulnerability due to improper sanitization of web page source code. When a user opens a malicious page in the Style Editor, the unsanitized content can be injected into the XUL interface, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate Firefox to version 52.3 (ESR) or version 55 or later to obtain the patched version that properly sanitizes web page source code before rendering in the Developer Tools.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Server AusOperating system
Affected:= 7.3= 7.4
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
Affected:= 7.3= 7.4= 7.5
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
FirefoxWeb browser
Affected:< 55.0< 52.3.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify Firefox is installed
    Check for Firefox installation. On Debian-based systems: dpkg -l | grep -i firefox. On RHEL-based systems: rpm -qa | grep -i firefox. On any system: which firefox or find /usr -name 'firefox' 2>/dev/null
    Affected if Firefox is not found on the system (not affected because the vulnerable software is not present)
  2. Determine installed Firefox version
    Run: firefox --version or firefox -v. For package-based installation: dpkg -s firefox (Debian) or rpm -qi firefox (RHEL). Record the exact version number
    Affected if Version is less than 52.3.0 (for ESR builds) OR less than 55.0 (for standard releases)
  3. Identify Firefox package type and source
    Check if this is an ESR (Extended Support Release) version. Run: firefox --version and look for 'ESR' in output, or check package name: dpkg -l firefox-esr (Debian) or rpm -qa | grep firefox-esr (RHEL)
    Affected if The installed version is an ESR version below 52.3.0, or a standard version below 55.0, and matches the affected Red Hat or Debian distributions listed
  4. Confirm Style Editor accessibility
    The Style Editor is part of Firefox Developer Tools, enabled by default. Verify Developer Tools are available by pressing F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I in Firefox, then clicking the Style Editor tab. No configuration check needed as this is a built-in feature
    Affected if Firefox version is vulnerable AND Developer Tools/Style Editor can be accessed (default enabled in all affected versions)
  5. Check system OS version for Red Hat or Debian
    On RHEL: cat /etc/redhat-release. On Debian: cat /etc/debian_version. Confirm the system is Debian 8.0/9.0 or RHEL 6.x/7.x as listed in affected products
    Affected if Running an affected OS version (Debian 8.0, 9.0, RHEL 6.x, 7.x) with a vulnerable Firefox version installed

You are affected if Firefox is installed with a version below 52.3.0 (ESR) or below 55.0 (standard) on a Debian 8.0/9.0 or RHEL 6.x/7.x system, and the Style Editor (Developer Tools) feature is accessible (which it is by default).

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 52.3.0 / 55.0 or later
Fixed in 52.3.055.0
Interim mitigation

Update Firefox to version 52.3 (ESR) or version 55 or later to obtain the patched version that properly sanitizes web page source code before rendering in the Developer Tools.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2017-7798 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