# CVE-2015-4505: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can write arbitrary files via junction attacks during Firefox updates, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Sep 2015
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wmp9-284v-m552

## What is CVE-2015-4505?

CVE-2015-4505 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 24 Sep 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

updater.exe in Mozilla Firefox before 41.0 and Firefox ESR 38.x before 38.3 on Windows allows local users to write to arbitrary files by conducting a junction attack and waiting for an update operation by the Mozilla Maintenance Service.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-4505?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mozilla Firefox.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-4505?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2015-4505 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mozilla Firefox

- [CVE-2019-11708](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11708/): Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird Sandbox Escape (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-3765](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3765/): Mozilla Multiple Products Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-26486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26486/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-26485](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26485/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-11707](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11707/): Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird Type Confusion (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-4505 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-4505 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 24 Sep 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mozilla Firefox. 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-2015-4505/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4505/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-4505
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-4505
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-4505

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4505/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.