CVE-2014-1490 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in libssl in Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) before 3.15.4, as used in Mozilla Firefox before 27.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.3, Thunderbird before 24.3, SeaMonkey before 2.24, and other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (use-after-free) or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving a resumption handshake that triggers incorrect replacement of a session ticket.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-1490 represents a critical race condition within the Network Security Services library that affects multiple Mozilla products including Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey. This flaw exists in the SSL/TLS implementation where improper handling of session ticket resumption creates conditions that can lead to memory corruption and potential remote code execution. The issue stems from the way NSS manages session tickets during the TLS handshake process, specifically when a client attempts to resume a previous session using a cached ticket. The race condition occurs when multiple threads or processes attempt to access and modify the same session ticket structure simultaneously, leading to inconsistent state management and memory management errors.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves triggering a resumption handshake scenario that causes the system to incorrectly replace an active session ticket with a new one while the old ticket is still being referenced or processed. This creates a use-after-free condition where memory previously allocated to a session ticket object gets freed but is subsequently accessed by other parts of the code, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The flaw is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered remotely through network connections, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to compromise systems running vulnerable versions of these applications. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-362, which describes race conditions, and CWE-416, which covers use-after-free errors, both of which are fundamental security weaknesses that can lead to system compromise.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations using affected Mozilla products, as it can be exploited without user interaction and can result in complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially allow attackers to execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected application, which typically runs with user-level permissions. Security researchers have noted that the vulnerability can be particularly challenging to detect and exploit due to the timing-dependent nature of the race condition, making it difficult to develop reliable exploitation techniques. The affected products represent widely used software across enterprise and consumer environments, amplifying the potential impact of successful exploitation. The vulnerability demonstrates the complexity of secure multi-threaded programming in cryptographic libraries and highlights the importance of proper synchronization mechanisms when handling shared resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-1490 involve immediate patching of all affected software versions, as the vulnerability has been addressed through updates to NSS library and the affected applications. Organizations should prioritize updating to the latest versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, and any other products that rely on vulnerable NSS components. System administrators should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish baseline behavior for TLS connections to identify anomalous activity that might indicate exploitation. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of keeping cryptographic libraries updated and the need for thorough security testing of multi-threaded applications. Organizations should also implement proper security awareness training for users to recognize potential social engineering attempts that might accompany exploitation of such vulnerabilities, as the use-after-free nature of the flaw could potentially be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks.