dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-5146

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
An out of bounds memory write while processing Vorbis audio data was reported through the Pwn2Own contest. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 59.0.1, Firefox ESR < 52.7.2, and Thunderbird < 52.7.

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

An out-of-bounds memory write vulnerability exists in the Vorbis audio decoder used by Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird. During Vorbis audio data processing, the decoder writes data beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially allowing heap corruption and remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to version Firefox 59.0.1, Firefox ESR 52.7.2, or Thunderbird 52.7 or later to patch the 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:= 7.4= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
Affected:= 7.4= 7.5= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server TusOperating system
Affected:= 7.4= 7.6
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 17.10

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. Check if Firefox is installed and its version
    Run 'firefox --version' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q firefox' on RHEL/CentOS, 'dpkg -l firefox' on Debian/Ubuntu)
    Affected if Version is older than 59.0.1 (e.g., 58.x, 57.x, or earlier)
  2. Check if Firefox ESR is installed and its version
    Run 'firefox-esr --version' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q firefox-esr' on RHEL/CentOS, 'dpkg -l firefox-esr' on Debian/Ubuntu)
    Affected if Version is older than 52.7.2 (e.g., 52.x prior to 52.7.2, 52.6.x, or earlier)
  3. Check if Thunderbird is installed and its version
    Run 'thunderbird --version' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q thunderbird' on RHEL/CentOS, 'dpkg -l thunderbird' on Debian/Ubuntu)
    Affected if Version is older than 52.7 (e.g., 52.6.x, 52.5.x, or earlier)
  4. Verify the Vorbis decoder is available
    The Vorbis decoder is typically included in standard Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird installations. No additional configuration is required for the vulnerability to apply - it triggers when processing malicious Vorbis audio data.
    Affected if The affected Mozilla product is installed and processes Vorbis audio content (this is a default behavior in these products)

A user is affected if they have Firefox prior to 59.0.1, Firefox ESR prior to 52.7.2, or Thunderbird prior to 52.7 installed on their Linux distribution.

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

Update affected Mozilla products to version Firefox 59.0.1, Firefox ESR 52.7.2, or Thunderbird 52.7 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2018-5146 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