CVE-2013-1690
CVE-2013-1690 is a security flaw in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, Mozilla’s web browser. Attackers can run their own code on Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 28 Mar 2022.[1]
Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work.
Description
CISA calls it a denial-of-service in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. In its words: “Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird do not properly handle onreadystatechange events in conjunction with page reloading, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) or possibly execute malicious code via a crafted web site.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “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.”[2]
The underlying weakness is memory buffer error (CWE-119), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 8.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it. CISA names the product as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird.
Every device with Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 28 Mar 2022, 3,197 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 18 Apr 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 69%. That’s in the top 1% of the flaws it scores.[3]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]
- Update Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird now.Install the latest update from Mozilla on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 8.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 69%.[3] |
See also
Other Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird flaws
- CVE-2019-11708: sandbox escape ·
- CVE-2019-11707: type confusion ·
- CVE-2020-6820: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2020-6819: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2019-17026: type confusion ·
Other Mozilla flaws
- CVE-2010-3765, Mozilla products: remote code execution ·
- CVE-2024-9680, Mozilla Firefox: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2016-9079, Mozilla Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2015-4495, Mozilla Firefox: security feature bypass ·
- CVE-2022-26486, Mozilla Firefox: use-after-free ·
Other memory buffer error flaws
- CVE-2026-88779, Citrix NetScaler: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2026-88772, Citrix NetScaler: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2026-88771, Citrix NetScaler: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2026-8452, Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2009-3459, Adobe Acrobat and Reader: heap-based buffer overflow ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2022-1096, Chrome and other Chromium browsers: type confusion ·
- CVE-2022-0543, Redis Debian-specific Redis Servers: debian-specific redis server lua sandbox escape ·
- CVE-2021-38646, Microsoft Office: access connectivity engine remote code execution ·
- CVE-2021-34486, Microsoft Windows: event tracing privilege escalation ·
- CVE-2021-26085, Atlassian Confluence Server: pre-authorization arbitrary file read ·
Every Mozilla flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in March 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird Denial-of-Service Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 28 Mar 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2013-1690 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 26 Jun 2013.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.690, percentile 99.4, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2013-1690”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.