CVE-2013-5591 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 25.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.1, Thunderbird before 24.1, and SeaMonkey before 2.22 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5591 represents a critical security flaw within the browser engine of Mozilla Firefox and related applications including Thunderbird and SeaMonkey. This unspecified vulnerability existed in versions prior to Firefox 25.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.1, Thunderbird before 24.1, and SeaMonkey before 2.22. The flaw resides in the core rendering and processing mechanisms that handle web content, making it particularly dangerous as it could be exploited through normal web browsing activities without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond visiting malicious websites.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as memory corruption issues that can lead to application crashes and potentially allow remote code execution. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically occur when applications fail to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation, leading to situations where attacker-controlled data can overwrite critical memory locations. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and may also relate to CWE-787, out-of-bounds write conditions, depending on the specific exploitation vector. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service as it could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems, representing a severe security risk.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-5591 is significant across multiple threat vectors within the cybersecurity landscape. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to compromise user systems through drive-by downloads, malicious advertisements, or compromised websites that exploit the browser engine's memory handling flaws. The vulnerability's presence in both regular Firefox releases and Extended Support Release versions indicates a broad attack surface, affecting organizations that rely on older browser versions for compatibility reasons. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, as successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected applications to the latest available versions, as Mozilla released security updates addressing the memory corruption issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems are updated promptly, particularly given the potential for remote code execution. Network-based defenses such as web application firewalls and content filtering solutions can provide additional layers of protection by blocking access to known malicious domains and implementing security policies that restrict potentially harmful content. Security monitoring should focus on detecting unusual memory usage patterns and application crashes that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing robust security practices including regular vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and security awareness training for users to prevent successful exploitation through social engineering or targeted attacks.