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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2022-45416

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 102.5 / 107.0 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Keyboard events reference strings like "KeyA" that were at fixed, known, and widely-spread addresses. Cache-based timing attacks such as Prime+Probe could have possibly figured out which keys were being pressed. This vulnerability affects Firefox ESR < 102.5, Thunderbird < 102.5, and Firefox < 107.

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

Cache-based timing side-channel vulnerability where keyboard event string identifiers (like 'KeyA') were stored at fixed, predictable memory addresses, potentially allowing attackers to determine which keys were pressed using Prime+Probe cache timing attacks.

MitigationUpgrade to Firefox 107+, Firefox ESR 102.5+, or Thunderbird 102.5+ to obtain patched versions with randomized string addresses.

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
Affected:< 107.0
Firefox EsrWeb browser
Affected:< 102.5
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:< 102.5

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 installed Mozilla product
    Check if Firefox, Firefox ESR, or Thunderbird is installed by looking in the application menu or checking the executable properties
    Affected if Any of these three products is installed
  2. Determine Firefox version
    In Firefox, go to Help > About Firefox, or type 'about:support' in the address bar, or check the executable file version property
    Affected if Version is earlier than 107.0 (or if ESR, earlier than 102.5)
  3. Determine Thunderbird version
    In Thunderbird, go to Help > About Thunderbird, or check the executable file version property
    Affected if Version is earlier than 102.5
  4. Confirm vulnerability applicability
    This flaw only affects browsers and email clients that process keyboard events. The vulnerability exists in the JavaScript engine's handling of KeyboardEvent.code values
    Affected if The installed product is a vulnerable version AND the user processes web content or emails with JavaScript enabled

A user is affected if they have Firefox < 107.0, Firefox ESR < 102.5, or Thunderbird < 102.5 installed and run with JavaScript enabled

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 102.5 / 107.0 or later
Fixed in 102.5107.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Firefox 107+, Firefox ESR 102.5+, or Thunderbird 102.5+ to obtain patched versions with randomized string addresses.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firefox 107.0, Firefox ESR 102.5, or Thunderbird 102.5

  1. Navigate to the official Mozilla download page at www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ or www.mozilla.org/thunderbird/all/
  2. Download the appropriate installer for your operating system
  3. For Firefox: Ensure you download version 107.0 or later
  4. For Firefox ESR: Ensure you download version 102.5 or later
  5. For Thunderbird: Ensure you download version 102.5 or later
  6. Close all running instances of Firefox or Thunderbird
  7. Run the downloaded installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  8. Restart the application after installation completes
Caveat Standard Mozilla release upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; however, some older extensions or add-ons may be incompatible with newer versions

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

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-45416 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