# CVE-2004-0478: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause browser denial of service via high CPU/RAM consumption using JavaScript infinite loops, requiring user interaction.

- **Severity:** Low 2.6 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 May 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5435-hp8c-m4q9

## What is CVE-2004-0478?

CVE-2004-0478 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Mozilla Mozilla, published on 20 May 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Unknown versions of Mozilla allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (high CPU/RAM consumption) using Javascript with an infinite loop  that continues to add input to a form, possibly as the result of inserting control characters, as demonstrated using an embedded ctrl-U.

Weakness: CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0478?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mozilla Mozilla.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-0478?

No fix has been published for CVE-2004-0478 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2004-0478 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0478 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mozilla Mozilla

- [CVE-2007-1794](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-1794/): Use after free in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0722](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0722/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-4039](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-4039/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2003-0791](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0791/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2005-3896](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3896/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0478 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-0478 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Mozilla Mozilla, published on 20 May 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0478 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mozilla Mozilla. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0478/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0478/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0478
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0478
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0478

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0478/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.