# CVE-2025-2817: Privilege escalation in Thunderbird Updater

> Attackers can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by manipulating Thunderbird's updater file locking, requiring an upgrade to patched versions.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Apr 2025
- **Updated:** 13 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j657-7g4v-wv6h, SUSE-SU-2025:1414-1, openSUSE-SU-2025:15040-1

## What is CVE-2025-2817?

CVE-2025-2817 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 29 Apr 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Thunderbird's update mechanism allowed a medium-integrity user process to interfere with the SYSTEM-level updater by manipulating the file-locking behavior. By injecting code into the user-privileged process, an attacker could bypass intended access controls, allowing SYSTEM-level file operations on paths controlled by a non-privileged user and enabling privilege escalation. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 138, Firefox ESR 128.10, Firefox ESR 115.23, Thunderbird 138, and Thunderbird 128.10.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-2817?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `MozillaFirefox` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | All versions | 128.10.0-112.255.1 |
| `MozillaFirefox` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | All versions | 128.10.0-112.255.1 |
| `firefox-esr` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 128.10.0-1.1 |

Products: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-2817?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2025-2817 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-2817 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-2025-2817 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-2817 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox, published on 29 Apr 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-2817 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-2025-2817/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2817/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-2817
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-2817
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-2817

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2817/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.