Firefox vulnerability

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.

Published 29 Apr 2025Updated 5 Oct 20267 sources
CVSS 8.8

What happened

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.

Affected versions

Firefox: before 115.23.0; before 138.0; 116.0 through before 128.10.0; before 128.10.0; 129.0 through before 138.0 Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

  • Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
  • Review affected product exposure and access logs.

Public PoC references

No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.