CVE-2016-5290 Memory corruption in Firefox

Q: Is CVE-2016-5290 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-5290 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Critical 9.8 Published 11 Jun 2018 Updated 6 Aug 2024

Memory safety bugs in Firefox and Thunderbird allow attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted web content.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2016-5290?

CVE-2016-5290 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 11 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Memory safety bugs were reported in Firefox 49 and Firefox ESR 45.4. Some of these bugs showed evidence of memory corruption and we presume that with enough effort that some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 45.5, Firefox ESR < 45.5, and Firefox < 50.

Weakness: CWE-119

Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-5290?

It affects 3 products.

Linux distribution packages (16)

`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el5_11`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el5_11`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el6_8`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el7_3`
`thunderbird` Red Hat:rhel_productivity:5	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el5_11`
`thunderbird-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_productivity:5	All versions	`0:45.5.0-1.el5_11`

Products include Debian Debian Linux, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird.

How do I fix CVE-2016-5290?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2016-5290 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-5290 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2016-5290, GHSA-qf56-xjg6-qx59, RHSA-2016:2825, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-5290.