CVE-2013-1690 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Mozilla Firefox before 22.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.7, Thunderbird before 17.0.7, and Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.7 do not properly handle onreadystatechange events in conjunction with page reloading, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site that triggers an attempt to execute data at an unmapped memory location.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/22/2026
This vulnerability resides in the web browser engine of mozilla firefox and thunderbird applications affecting versions prior to 22.0 for firefox and 17.0.7 for thunderbird esr. The flaw manifests when the application processes onreadystatechange events during page reloading operations creating a scenario where memory management becomes compromised. The issue stems from improper handling of event processing when documents are reloaded, leading to potential memory corruption that can be exploited by remote attackers. This vulnerability represents a classic use-after-free condition where the application attempts to execute code from memory locations that have already been freed or unmapped, creating a dangerous execution path that can be manipulated by malicious actors.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted web content that triggers specific sequences in the browser's event handling system. When a webpage containing malicious javascript code reloads a document while simultaneously managing onreadystatechange events, the browser's internal memory management fails to properly track the lifecycle of memory segments. This results in a situation where the application attempts to execute code from memory addresses that are no longer valid or accessible, leading to either application crashes or potentially more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered through normal web browsing activities without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable remote code execution capabilities. Attackers can leverage this flaw to compromise user systems by delivering malicious content through compromised websites or malicious email attachments. The vulnerability affects both firefox and thunderbird applications, expanding the potential attack surface significantly. Organizations using affected versions face substantial risk as the exploitation can occur without user awareness, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where users may visit untrusted websites or receive malicious email content. The vulnerability's classification aligns with common weakness enumeration cwe-476 which describes null pointer dereference conditions, and can be mapped to attack techniques in the attack tree framework that involve memory corruption and privilege escalation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate software updates to patched versions of the affected applications. System administrators should prioritize deployment of security patches released by mozilla for firefox version 22.0 and thunderbird version 17.0.7, ensuring all users have updated to secure versions. Additional protective measures include implementing web content filtering solutions that can block known malicious domains and content, enabling strict security policies within browser configurations, and conducting regular security assessments to identify potentially compromised systems. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual patterns in web traffic that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing techniques and privilege separation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability's potential for arbitrary code execution makes comprehensive protection essential for enterprise security posture.