# CVE-2016-1938: Weak cryptography in n/a

> A flaw in Mozilla NSS division logic weakens cryptographic protections, allowing attackers to bypass security mechanisms.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 31 Jan 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-1938, DLA-427-1, GHSA-xp2m-37gc-hr6h, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-1938, USN-2903-1

## What is CVE-2016-1938?

CVE-2016-1938 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 31 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The s_mp_div function in lib/freebl/mpi/mpi.c in Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) before 3.21, as used in Mozilla Firefox before 44.0, improperly divides numbers, which might make it easier for remote attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms by leveraging use of the (1) mp_div or (2) mp_exptmod function.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1938?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Nss, Opensuse Leap, Opensuse Opensuse.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1938?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-1938 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1938 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-2016-1938 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1938 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 31 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1938 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-2016-1938/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1938/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1938
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1938
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1938

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1938/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.