dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-12378

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
A use-after-free vulnerability can occur when an IndexedDB index is deleted while still in use by JavaScript code that is providing payload values to be stored. This results in a potentially exploitable crash. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 62, Firefox ESR < 60.2, and Thunderbird < 60.2.1.

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 use-after-free vulnerability in IndexedDB occurs when an index is deleted while JavaScript code is still actively using it to provide payload values for storage. The memory for the deleted index is freed but the JavaScript continues to reference it, leading to a potentially exploitable crash.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 62 or later, Firefox ESR 60.2 or later, or Thunderbird 60.2.1 or later to patch this 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 Server AusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
Affected:= 7.5= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server TusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 18.04

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. Identify installed Mozilla browsers
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep -i firefox' (RHEL) or 'dpkg -l | grep -i firefox' (Debian/Ubuntu) to list Firefox packages. Also check for Thunderbird with 'rpm -qa | grep -i thunderbird' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i thunderbird'.
    Affected if Firefox or Thunderbird packages are installed on the system
  2. Retrieve Firefox version
    Run 'firefox --version' or check the package version with 'rpm -q firefox' (RHEL) or 'dpkg -s firefox' (Debian/Ubuntu).
    Affected if Firefox version is earlier than 62.0, or Firefox ESR version is earlier than 60.2
  3. Retrieve Thunderbird version
    Run 'thunderbird --version' or check the package version with 'rpm -q thunderbird' (RHEL) or 'dpkg -s thunderbird' (Debian/Ubuntu).
    Affected if Thunderbird version is earlier than 60.2.1
  4. Confirm IndexedDB usage context
    This vulnerability affects any web application using IndexedDB within Firefox or email handling in Thunderbird. Check if users have access to web applications that utilize IndexedDB storage, or if Thunderbird is used for email with add-ons that leverage IndexedDB.
    Affected if Firefox or Thunderbird with a vulnerable version is actively used, and the software leverages IndexedDB functionality

A system is affected if it runs Firefox versions before 62.0 (or Firefox ESR before 60.2) or Thunderbird before 60.2.1, particularly on the listed RHEL 6/7, Debian 8/9, or Ubuntu 14.04/16.04/18.04 distributions.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 62 or later, Firefox ESR 60.2 or later, or Thunderbird 60.2.1 or later to patch this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Firefox 62 or later (or Firefox ESR 60.2 or later), or Thunderbird 60.2.1 or later

  1. Identify the affected application (Firefox or Thunderbird) installed on the system
  2. Check the currently installed version using: firefox --version or thunderbird --version
  3. For Fedora/Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, run: sudo dnf update firefox thunderbird
  4. For Debian/Ubuntu systems, run: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade firefox thunderbird
  5. Restart the application after the update completes
  6. Verify the installed version meets the minimum fixed version (Firefox >= 62, Firefox ESR >= 60.2, Thunderbird >= 60.2.1)
Caveat Users may experience compatibility issues with older add-ons or extensions that are not compatible with the newer browser version

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2018-12378 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