dbcve.org
ThunderbirdApplication · Mozilla

CVE-2022-3033

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 91.13.1 / 102.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
88/100
Remediation priority · High
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
If a Thunderbird user replied to a crafted HTML email containing a <code>meta</code> tag, with the <code>meta</code> tag having the <code>http-equiv="refresh"</code> attribute, and the content attribute specifying an URL, then Thunderbird started a network request to that URL, regardless of the configuration to block remote content. In combination with certain other HTML elements and attributes in the email, it was possible to execute JavaScript code included in the message in the context of the message compose document. The JavaScript code was able to perform actions including, but probably not limited to, read and modify the contents of the message compose document, including the quoted original message, which could potentially contain the decrypted plaintext of encrypted data in the crafted email. The contents could then be transmitted to the network, either to the URL specified in the META refresh tag, or to a different URL, as the JavaScript code could modify the URL specified in the document. This bug doesn't affect users who have changed the default Message Body display setting to 'simple html' or 'plain text'. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 102.2.1 and Thunderbird < 91.13.1.

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

Thunderbird fails to properly sanitize meta refresh tags in the compose context, allowing JavaScript execution within the message compose document even when remote content blocking is enabled. This enables attackers to read/modify compose contents including quoted plaintext of encrypted emails and exfiltrate data via network requests triggered by the meta refresh tag.

MitigationUpgrade Thunderbird to version 102.2.1 or later (or 91.13.1 or later for ESR). Users of vulnerable versions can temporarily set Message Body display to 'simple html' or 'plain text' as a workaround.

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
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:< 91.13.1>= 102.0, < 102.2.1

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
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Thunderbird version
    Open Thunderbird and go to Help > About Thunderbird to view the installed version number
    Affected if Version is 102.0.x or 102.1.x, or 91.x versions prior to 91.13.1
  2. Confirm compose context exposure
    This vulnerability affects the message compose window, regardless of remote content blocking settings
    Affected if Using a vulnerable Thunderbird version and composing messages
  3. Check HTML compose mode configuration
    Go to Account Settings > Composition & Addressing and verify if 'Compose messages in HTML format' is enabled
    Affected if HTML compose mode is enabled on a vulnerable version - the exploit targets HTML compose documents

You are affected if Thunderbird version is less than 91.13.1, or is 102.0.x through 102.1.x, and you compose messages in HTML format

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 91.13.1 / 102.2.1 or later
Fixed in 91.13.1102.2.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Thunderbird to version 102.2.1 or later (or 91.13.1 or later for ESR). Users of vulnerable versions can temporarily set Message Body display to 'simple html' or 'plain text' as a workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Thunderbird 91.13.1 (for 91.x users) or Thunderbird 102.2.1 (for 102.x users)

  1. 1. Check current Thunderbird version by navigating to Help > About Thunderbird
  2. 2. For users on Thunderbird 91.x: Upgrade to Thunderbird 91.13.1 or later
  3. 3. For users on Thunderbird 102.x: Upgrade to Thunderbird 102.2.1 or later
  4. 4. Alternatively, as a configuration workaround, change Message Body display setting to 'simple html' or 'plain text' in Thunderbird settings to avoid the vulnerability

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

Fix this in Thunderbird Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,460
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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-2022-3033 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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