Use after free in Mozilla Thunderbird
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 9 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
During operations on MessageTasks, a task may have been removed while it was still scheduled, resulting in memory corruption and a potentially exploitable crash. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 78.15, Thunderbird < 91.2, Firefox ESR < 91.2, Firefox ESR < 78.15, and Firefox < 93.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mozilla | Thunderbird | before 78.15; before 91.2 | 78.15, 91.2 | Patch available | CNA |
| Mozilla | Firefox ESR | before 91.2; before 78.15 | 91.2, 78.15 | Patch available | CNA |
| Mozilla | Firefox | before 93 | 93 | Patch available | CNA |
- Thunderbird VendorMozilla Affected before 78.15; before 91.2 Fixed in 78.15, 91.2 Patch available CNA
- Firefox ESR VendorMozilla Affected before 91.2; before 78.15 Fixed in 91.2, 78.15 Patch available CNA
- Firefox VendorMozilla Affected before 93 Fixed in 93 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 93.0; 91.0 to before 91.2 | Vulnerable | Mozilla |
| cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox_esr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 78.15 | Vulnerable | Mozilla |
| cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:thunderbird:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 78.15; 91.0 to before 91.2 | Vulnerable | Mozilla |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 93.0; 91.0 to before 91.2 Vulnerable ·Mozilla
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox_esr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 78.15 Vulnerable ·Mozilla
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:thunderbird:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 78.15; 91.0 to before 91.2 Vulnerable ·Mozilla
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Thunderbird (Mozilla) Fixed in 78.15, 91.2
- Fix · CNA Firefox ESR (Mozilla) Fixed in 91.2, 78.15
- Fix · CNA Firefox (Mozilla) Fixed in 93
Red Hat 8 advisories
- RHSA-2021:3841 Released 2021-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantthunderbird security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el7_9
- RHSA-2021:3838 Released 2021-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantthunderbird security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el8_4
- RHSA-2021:3839 Released 2021-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantthunderbird security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el8_2
Show 5 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2021:3840 Released 2021-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantthunderbird security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.1) thunderbird-91.2.0-1.el8_1
- RHSA-2021:3791 Released 2021-10-12 · Red Hat rating Importantfirefox security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) firefox-91.2.0-4.el7_9
- RHSA-2021:3755 Released 2021-10-11 · Red Hat rating Importantfirefox security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) firefox-91.2.0-4.el8_4
- RHSA-2021:3757 Released 2021-10-11 · Red Hat rating Importantfirefox security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.1) firefox-91.2.0-4.el8_1
- RHSA-2021:3756 Released 2021-10-11 · Red Hat rating Importantfirefox security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) firefox-91.2.0-4.el8_2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Mozilla Firefox 93
6 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 4 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2021-16100 Mozilla developers reported memory safety bugs present in Firefox 92 and Firefox ESR 91.1.Priority MEDIUM 41
- TI-2021-16101 Mozilla developers reported memory safety bugs present in Firefox 92 and Firefox ESR 91.1.Priority MEDIUM 40
- TI-2021-16099 Out-of-bounds write in Mozilla FirefoxPriority MEDIUM 40
- Release ·
Mozilla Firefox ESR, Thunderbird 78.15, 91.2
2 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 2 MEDIUM
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2021-16100 Mozilla developers reported memory safety bugs present in Firefox 92 and Firefox ESR 91.1.Priority MEDIUM 41
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3755, RHSA-2021:3838 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.1) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3757, RHSA-2021:3840 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3756, RHSA-2021:3839 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791, RHSA-2021:3841 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791, RHSA-2021:3841 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791, RHSA-2021:3841 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:3791 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-38496
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3rfx-pjp7-cvfp
References
Advisory 7
- https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2021-47/
- https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2021-45/
- https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2021-43/
- https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2021-44/
- https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1725335
- DSA-5034
- [debian-lts-announce] 20220104 [SECURITY] [DLA 2874-1] thunderbird security update
More Mozilla Firefox vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-08981 Use after free in Mozilla Firefox KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-09832 Use after free in Mozilla Firefox KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.6
- TI-2019-08769 Improper input validation in Mozilla Firefox ESR KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2010-03577 Mozilla Firefox 3.5.x through 3.5.14 and 3.6.x through 3.6.11, Thunderbird 3.1.6 before… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2023-04799 Out-of-bounds write in Google Chrome KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-04477 Out-of-bounds write in Google Chrome KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2021-38496 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-38496 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3rfx-pjp7-cvfp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-38496 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences