Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2018-5173
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 filename appearing in the "Downloads" panel improperly renders some Unicode characters, allowing for the file name to be spoofed. This can be used to obscure the file extension of potentially executable files from user view in the panel. Note: the dialog to open the file will show the full, correct filename and whether it is executable or not. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 60.
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 confidenceThe Firefox Downloads panel improperly renders certain Unicode characters, allowing attackers to spoof filenames and hide true file extensions. For example, a malicious executable could be displayed with a benign-looking extension like .pdf, while the actual .exe extension is obscured.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 14.04= 16.04= 17.10= 18.04
FirefoxWeb browser
< 60.0CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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.
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Check installed Firefox versionRun 'firefox --version' or navigate to Firefox menu > Help > About to view the version numberAffected if The version shown is less than 60.0 (for example 59.x, 58.x, etc.)
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Confirm Firefox is installedRun 'which firefox' or check /usr/bin/firefox existsAffected if Firefox executable is present on the system
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Verify Ubuntu version if using system FirefoxRun 'lsb_release -r' or check /etc/lsb-releaseAffected if The system runs Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, 17.10, or 18.04 with Firefox installed
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Check if Downloads panel is the default viewOpen Firefox, go to the Downloads panel (Ctrl+J or Cmd+J) - this is the default Downloads manager in affected versionsAffected if The Downloads panel is accessible and used (this is the default Firefox Downloads manager)
You are affected if Firefox version is below 60.0 and you use the Downloads panel to view downloaded files, as the panel can be tricked into displaying misleading file extensions via special Unicode characters.
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 data60.0
Upgrade Firefox to version 60 or later. Until patched, users should rely on the file open dialog which correctly displays the full filename and executable status.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5173 — 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-2018-5173 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
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- 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
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