Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2016-5259


Use-after-free vulnerability in the CanonicalizeXPCOMParticipant function in Mozilla Firefox before 48.0 and Firefox ESR 45.x before 45.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a script that closes its own Service Worker within a nested sync event loop.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from mozilla, from oracle organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2016, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.


Published

2016-08-05T01:59:15.097

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
  • Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-416

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application mozilla firefox ≤ 47.0.1 Yes
Application mozilla firefox 45.1.0 Yes
Application mozilla firefox 45.1.1 Yes
Application mozilla firefox 45.2.0 Yes
Application mozilla firefox 45.3.0 Yes
Operating System oracle linux 5.0 Yes
Operating System oracle linux 6 Yes
Operating System oracle linux 7 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For mozilla's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.