FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2021-23984
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 · uneditedA malicious extension could have opened a popup window lacking an address bar. The title of the popup lacking an address bar should not be fully controllable, but in this situation was. This could have been used to spoof a website and attempt to trick the user into providing credentials. This vulnerability affects Firefox ESR < 78.9, Firefox < 87, and Thunderbird < 78.9.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Firefox and Thunderbird allows malicious extensions to open popup windows without an address bar where the popup title is fully controllable. Since the title should not be fully controllable in this scenario, attackers could spoof legitimate websites and trick users into providing credentials.
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
FirefoxWeb browser
< 87.0
Firefox EsrWeb browser
< 78.9< 78.9CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Identify installed product and versionIn Firefox: Go to Help > About Firefox. In Thunderbird: Go to Help > About Thunderbird. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if The product is Mozilla Firefox below 87.0, Mozilla Firefox ESR below 78.9, or Mozilla Thunderbird below 78.9
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Confirm product edition if using FirefoxCheck if the installed Firefox is the ESR (Extended Support Release) or standard release by looking at the About window title or the version string (ESR versions include 'ESR' in the version).Affected if Running Firefox ESR version below 78.9
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Review installed extensionsIn Firefox: Go to Add-ons and Themes (Ctrl+Shift+A) and review the Extensions list. In Thunderbird: Go to Add-ons > Extensions. Check for any unknown, untrusted, or recently installed extensions.Affected if Any untrusted or malicious extension is installed that could exploit the popup title spoofing behavior
You are affected if the installed Firefox version is below 87.0, Firefox ESR is below 78.9, or Thunderbird is below 78.9, especially if untrusted extensions are present.
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 data78.987.0
Update affected products to Firefox ESR 78.9+, Firefox 87+, or Thunderbird 78.9+ to patch this vulnerability. Organizations should also review extension policies to restrict untrusted extensions.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-23984 — 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-2021-23984 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data