# CVE-2012-4208: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass chrome-only restrictions to read DOM object properties via a crafted website in Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Nov 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hg78-jqpr-v9fg

## What is CVE-2012-4208?

CVE-2012-4208 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 21 Nov 2012. 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

The XrayWrapper implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 17.0, Thunderbird before 17.0, and SeaMonkey before 2.14 does not consider the compartment during property filtering, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended chrome-only restrictions on reading DOM object properties via a crafted web site.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-4208?

It affects 8 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Seamonkey, Mozilla Thunderbird, Opensuse Opensuse, Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, Suse Linux Enterprise Server, Suse Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-4208?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-4208 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-4208 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-4208 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-4208 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 21 Nov 2012. 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-2012-4208 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2012-4208/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4208/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4208
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4208
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-4208

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4208/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.