CVE-2009-2479
CVE-2009-2479 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 7.8. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 12% places it in the 96th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.
Key facts
- Severity: High (CVSS 2.0 base score 7.8)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 12% (96th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-119
- Affected product: Mozilla Firefox
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Mozilla Firefox 3.0.x, 3.5, and 3.5.1 on Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (uncaught exception and application crash) via a long Unicode string argument to the write method. NOTE: this was originally reported as a stack-based buffer overflow. NOTE: on Linux and Mac OS X, a crash resulting from this long string reportedly occurs in an operating-system library, not in Firefox.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2009-2479?
- Mozilla Firefox 3.0.x, 3.5, and 3.5.1 on Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (uncaught exception and application crash) via a long Unicode string argument to the write method. NOTE: this was originally reported as a stack-based buffer overflow. NOTE: on Linux and Mac OS X, a crash resulting from this long string reportedly occurs in an operating-system library, not in Firefox.
- How severe is CVE-2009-2479?
- CVE-2009-2479 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 7.8, rated high severity.
- Is CVE-2009-2479 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 12% (96th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2009-2479?
- CVE-2009-2479 primarily affects Mozilla Firefox. In total, 19 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2009-2479?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2009-2479 published?
- CVE-2009-2479 was published on 2009-07-16 and last updated on 2026-06-16.
References
- http://blog.mozilla.com/security/2009/07/19/milw0rm-9158-stack-overflow-crash-not-exploitable-cve-2009-2479/
- http://osvdb.org/55931
- http://websecurity.com.ua/3338/
- http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/9158
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/505092/100/0/threaded
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35707
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022580
- https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=504342
- https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=504343
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51729
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-July/msg00909.html
Affected products (19)
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.0.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:3.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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