Mozilla Firefox/Thunderbird 24.0 SetEventHandler use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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9.5$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird 24.0. This affects the function nsEventListenerManager::SetEventHandler. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2013-5601. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird 24.0 (Web Browser) and classified as very critical. This issue affects the function nsEventListenerManager::SetEventHandler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Use-after-free vulnerability in the nsEventListenerManager::SetEventHandler function in Mozilla Firefox before 25.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.10 and 24.x before 24.1, Thunderbird before 24.1, Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.10, and SeaMonkey before 2.22 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a memory allocation through the garbage collection (GC) API.

The weakness was disclosed 10/29/2013 by Nils as Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2013-100 as confirmed advisory (Website). The advisory is shared at mozilla.org. The public release has been coordinated in cooperation with Mozilla. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2013-5601 since 08/26/2013. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/25/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 70688 (CentOS 5 / 6 : firefox (CESA-2013:1476)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family CentOS Local Security Checks. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 121562 (Red Hat Update for Xulrunner Firefox (RHSA-2013:1476)).

Upgrading to version 25.0 eliminates this vulnerability. The upgrade is hosted for download at mozilla.org. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (70688), SecurityFocus (BID 63405†), OSVDB (99093†), Secunia (SA55483†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-42135†). mozilla.org is providing further details. The entries VDB-11046, VDB-11047, VDB-11048 and VDB-11049 are pretty similar. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Firefox 24.0
  • Thunderbird 24.0
  • SeaMonkey 2.21
  • Firefox ESR 24.0
  • Firefox ESR 17.0.9
  • Thunderbird ESR 17.0.9

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 70688
Nessus Name: CentOS 5 / 6 : firefox (CESA-2013:1476)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 892788
OpenVAS Name: Debian Security Advisory DSA 2788-1 (iceweasel - several vulnerabilities
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Firefox/Thunderbird 25.0

Timelineinfo

08/26/2013 🔍
10/29/2013 +64 days 🔍
10/29/2013 +0 days 🔍
10/29/2013 +0 days 🔍
10/30/2013 +1 days 🔍
10/30/2013 +0 days 🔍
10/30/2013 +0 days 🔍
11/01/2013 +2 days 🔍
11/25/2025 +4407 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: mozilla.org
Product: mozilla.org

Advisory: Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2013-100
Researcher: Nils
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍
Coordinated: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2013-5601 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2013-5601
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-11057

OVAL: 🔍
IAVM: 🔍

SecurityFocus: 63405
Secunia: 55483 - Ubuntu update for firefox, Highly Critical
OSVDB: 99093
Vulnerability Center: 42135 - Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird and Seamonkey Remote Code Execution and DoS due to Use-After-Free Vulnerability (CVE-2013-5601), Critical

Misc.: 🔍
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 11/01/2013 10:40
Updated: 11/25/2025 19:00
Changes: 11/01/2013 10:40 (86), 01/31/2018 09:55 (1), 06/01/2021 15:20 (2), 11/25/2025 19:00 (15)
Complete: 🔍
Committer:
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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