Description
The appendChild function in Mozilla Firefox before 3.6.20, Thunderbird 3.x before 3.1.12, SeaMonkey 2.x, and possibly other products does not properly handle DOM objects, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors that lead to dereferencing of a "dangling pointer."
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 6.0 | iceape | 2.0.11-7 | DSA-2295-1 |
| Debian 6.0 | icedove | 3.0.11-1+squeeze4 | DSA-2297-1 |
| Debian 6.0 | iceweasel | 3.5.16-9 | DSA-2296-1 |
| Debian 5.0 | xulrunner | 1.9.0.19-13 | DSA-2296-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | firefox | 3.6.20-2.el6_1 | RHSA-2011:1164 |
| RHEL 6 | thunderbird | 3.1.12-1.el6_1 | RHSA-2011:1166 |
| RHEL 6 | xulrunner +1 | 1.9.2.20-2.el6_1 | RHSA-2011:1164 |
| RHEL 5 | firefox | 3.6.20-2.el5 | RHSA-2011:1164 |
| RHEL 5 | xulrunner +1 | 1.9.2.20-2.el5 | RHSA-2011:1164 |
| RHEL 4 | firefox | 3.6.20-2.el4 | RHSA-2011:1164 |
Advisories 5
- RHSA-2011:1166 Red Hat Security Advisory: thunderbird security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2011:1164 Red Hat Security Advisory: firefox security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- DSA-2297-1 icedove - several Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-2295-1 iceape - several Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-2296-1 iceweasel - several Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- MDVSA-2011:127 vendor-advisory
- http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2011/mfsa2011-30.html
- https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=648065
- DSA-2297 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2011:0967 vendor-advisory
- DSA-2296 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2011:1166 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SA:2011:037 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2011:1164 vendor-advisory
- DSA-2295 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:14163 vdb-entry signature