# CVE-2023-5171: Use after free in Firefox

> A use-after-free in Firefox's Ion compiler allows attackers to write NUL bytes, potentially causing crashes or code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** 27 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2023-5171, GHSA-v567-j6g5-phvx, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-5171

## What is CVE-2023-5171?

CVE-2023-5171 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Sep 2023. 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

During Ion compilation, a Garbage Collection could have resulted in a use-after-free condition, allowing an attacker to write two NUL bytes, and cause a potentially exploitable crash. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 118, Firefox ESR < 115.3, and Thunderbird < 115.3.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5171?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Firefox Esr, Mozilla Thunderbird.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-5171?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-5171 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5171 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-5171 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-5171 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Sep 2023. 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-2023-5171 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian 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-2023-5171/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5171/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5171
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5171
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-5171

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5171/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.