CVE-2013-1690: Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird Denial-of-Service Vulnerability

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HIGH 8.8EXPLOITEDWATCHLISTUPGRADEUPGRADEUPGRADE

CVE-2013-1690 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 8.8) affecting firefox, thunderbird, thunderbird esr, reported as exploited in the wild. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Mozilla Firefox before 22.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.7, Thunderbird before 17.0.7, and Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.7 do not properly handle onreadystatechange events in conjunction with page reloading, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site that triggers an attempt to execute data at an unmapped memory location.

Why this priority

High severity
EPSS top 1%: very likely to be exploited
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV)
Public exploit reference
On your watchlist

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	8.8 (High)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	Required
EPSS exploit chance	69.0% (top 1%)
CISA exploited list	Yes, fix due 2022-04-18
Weakness	CWE-119
Published	2013-06-26
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): Mozilla Corporation · Vendor: canonical · debian · mozilla · redhat

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2013-06-26 03:19 UTCPublished CVE record published
2022-03-28Exploited Added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list
2022-04-18Deadline CISA due date for US federal agencies to patch
2026-06-16 23:51 UTCUpdated Record last modified

mozilla firefox UPGRADE

Affected: < 22.0 · >= 17.0 and < 17.0.7

Fixed in: 17.0.7, 22.0

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 17.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy firefox || rpm -q firefox || firefox --version

2. UPGRADE to 17.0.7 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade firefox

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade firefox

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE to a release before 17.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison firefox sudo apt install firefox=<VERSION_BEFORE_17.0> sudo apt-mark hold firefox

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list firefox sudo dnf downgrade firefox-<VERSION_BEFORE_17.0> sudo dnf versionlock add firefox

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

mozilla thunderbird UPGRADE

Affected: < 17.0.7

Fixed in: 17.0.7

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy thunderbird || rpm -q thunderbird || thunderbird --version

2. UPGRADE to 17.0.7 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade thunderbird

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade thunderbird

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

mozilla thunderbird esr UPGRADE

Affected: >= 17.0 and < 17.0.7

Fixed in: 17.0.7

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 17.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy thunderbird-esr || rpm -q thunderbird-esr || thunderbird-esr --version

2. UPGRADE to 17.0.7 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade thunderbird-esr

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade thunderbird-esr

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE to a release before 17.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison thunderbird-esr sudo apt install thunderbird-esr=<VERSION_BEFORE_17.0> sudo apt-mark hold thunderbird-esr

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list thunderbird-esr sudo dnf downgrade thunderbird-esr-<VERSION_BEFORE_17.0> sudo dnf versionlock add thunderbird-esr

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

canonical ubuntu linux MITIGATE

Affected: 12.04 · 12.10 · 13.04

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 12.04

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

debian debian linux MITIGATE

Affected: 7.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 7.0

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

redhat gluster storage server for on-premise DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise || rpm -q gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise || gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise sudo apt install gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.0> sudo apt-mark hold gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise sudo dnf downgrade gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.0> sudo dnf versionlock add gluster-storage-server-for-on-premise

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Exact fixes by distribution

A distro patch exists: prefer upgrading over downgrading.

Fedora 46 · perl-Net-IDN-Encode · FIXED · 2.600-1.fc46 · FEDORA-2026-84eff0ea64 · source

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=FEDORA-2026-84eff0ea64

Fedora ELN · libXISF · FIXED · 0.2.15-2.eln159 · FEDORA-2026-b9e2d1bda0 · source

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=FEDORA-2026-b9e2d1bda0

RHEL 5 · thunderbird · FIXED · thunderbird-17.0.7-1.el5_9

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=RHSA-2013:0982 rpm -q thunderbird

RHEL 5 · firefox · FIXED · firefox-17.0.7-1.el5_9

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=RHSA-2013:0981 rpm -q firefox

RHEL 5 · xulrunner · FIXED · xulrunner-17.0.7-1.el5_9

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=RHSA-2013:0981 rpm -q xulrunner

RHEL 6 · firefox · FIXED · firefox-17.0.7-1.el6_4

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=RHSA-2013:0981 rpm -q firefox

RHEL 6 · xulrunner · FIXED · xulrunner-17.0.7-1.el6_4

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=RHSA-2013:0981 rpm -q xulrunner

Public exploits and detection

Public code exists for this CVE. Treat unpatched systems as at risk, and only run PoCs in a lab.

GitHub PoC: vlad902/annotated-fbi-tbb-exploit (15 stars)
GitHub PoC: Diamond975-py/FBI-Tor-Exploit-CVE-2013-1690 (0 stars)
Exploit-DB: Mozilla Firefox - onreadystatechange Event DocumentViewerImpl Use-After-Free (Metasploit)
Metasploit: Firefox onreadystatechange Event DocumentViewerImpl Use After Free

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · CISA KEV catalog · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2013-1690?

firefox: upgrade to 17.0.7, 22.0; thunderbird: upgrade to 17.0.7; thunderbird esr: upgrade to 17.0.7. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2013-1690 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2013-1690 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, so treat it as patch-now.

What does CVE-2013-1690 affect?

CVE-2013-1690 affects firefox, thunderbird, thunderbird esr. Severity is high (CVSS 8.8). Mozilla Firefox before 22.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.7, Thunderbird before 17.0.7, and Thunderbird ESR 17.x before 17.0.7 do not properly handle onreadystatechange events in conjunction with page reloading, which allows remote attacker

How urgent is CVE-2013-1690?

Priority 91/100. High severity; EPSS top 1%: very likely to be exploited; Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV); Public exploit reference; On your watchlist

Software pages

Ubuntu vulnerabilities · Debian vulnerabilities · Mozilla Firefox vulnerabilities · Mozilla Thunderbird vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2026-74990 CRITICAL 9.8 UPGRADE UPGRADE Internally found bugs present in Firefox ESR 115.38, Firefox ESR 140.13, Firefox ESR 153.0 and Firefox 153
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CVE-2026-74988 CRITICAL 9.8 UPGRADE UPGRADE Internally found bugs present in Firefox ESR 153.0 and Firefox 153
CVE-2026-74987 CRITICAL 9.8 UPGRADE UPGRADE Internally found bugs present in Firefox ESR 140.13, Firefox ESR 153.0 and Firefox 153
CVE-2026-74969 HIGH 8.8 UPGRADE UPGRADE Race condition, use-after-free in the Layout: Text and Fonts component

References

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