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Mozilla Firefox CVE-2026-100804

| EUVDEUVD-2026-88957 CRITICAL
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2026-09-29 mozilla GHSA-29g5-92cf-qhwc
Critical
Disputed · 9.6 Vendor: mozilla
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Victim visits crafted web page
  2. Delivery
    Trigger use-after-free in Preferences:Backend
  3. Exploit
    Corrupt content-process memory
  4. Execution
    Escape browser sandbox (scope change)
  5. Impact
    Execute code on host with high impact

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires the victim to load attacker-controlled web content in Firefox before version 157 (UI:R - user interaction via visiting/rendering a crafted page). No authentication and no special privileges are needed (PR:N), and default configurations are affected - there is no feature-flag or non-default setting prerequisite noted. The primary limiting factors are the need for user interaction (the victim must visit a malicious or compromised page) and that patched builds (Firefox 157 and later) are not vulnerable; the memory-corruption nature (UAF) may also make reliable exploitation across mitigations non-trivial.

Impact

This is a genuinely high-severity issue, not a high-CVSS-but-low-risk artifact. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H, 9.6) reflects a use-after-free that produces a SANDBOX ESCAPE: the S:C scope change is what lifts this to 9.6, distinguishing it from the ~8.8 content-process-only siblings in the same MFSA2026-97 batch (e.g. CVE-2026-100768, CVE-2026-100776). Network vector, low complexity, and no privileges are required, tempered only by UI:R (the victim must load attacker content). Countervailing signals: there is NO EPSS score, NO CISA KEV listing, and NO public exploit code - this is a Mozilla self-reported/internally-found flaw with no evidence of exploitation. So exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' The 9.6 reflects worst-case technical impact (escaping the content sandbox to the host), not observed attacks. Net: prioritize patching because of ubiquity and sandbox-escape potential, but there is no active-exploitation urgency signal. The 'Information Disclosure' tag understates the impact - this is memory corruption enabling escape, not merely info leak.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker hosts a crafted web page (or injects malicious content into a site the victim visits) that manipulates the Preferences:Backend component to trigger the use-after-free. When the victim's Firefox renders the page, the freed object is reused to corrupt content-process memory and pivot into a sandbox escape, gaining code execution at the host/browser privilege level. No public proof-of-concept or exploit code is currently available.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 29, 2026

Use-after-free in Mozilla Firefox's Preferences: Backend component before version 157 enables a sandbox escape, allowing attacker-controlled web content to break out of the browser's renderer sandbox and gain code execution with browser privileges; exploitation requires the victim to load attacker-controlled content (UI:R) with no authentication or special privileges (PR:N), and default configurations are affected. Mozilla addressed this in Firefox 157 via the mfsa2026-97 advisory, and while the CVSS 9.6/S:C scoring reflects a genuinely high-severity memory-corruption issue, no public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV) has been identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Firefox 157. Upgrade all Firefox installations to 157 or later as the primary and complete fix, referencing Mozilla advisory mfsa2026-97 (https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2026-97/) and the bug tracker at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2058647; because the flaw requires only that a victim render attacker-controlled content and default configurations are affected, patching should be treated as urgent. Until patching is complete, no feature flag or configuration toggle is documented to disable the vulnerable Preferences backend, so compensating controls are limited and should be chosen with their trade-offs in mind: restrict Firefox usage to trusted sites and block untrusted script sources to reduce the chance a renderer is compromised in the first place (reduces attack surface but does not fully remove risk and can break legitimate web applications), and run Firefox inside an additional OS- or VM-level isolation boundary such as a dedicated low-privilege user account, AppArmor/SELinux confinement, or a disposable virtual machine so that a successful sandbox escape still lands in a constrained environment (adds operational overhead and can degrade usability). Enterprise deployments should prioritize patching over long-term reliance on these workarounds, and should monitor for Firefox versions below 157 in their inventory.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is a use-after-free (CWE-416) in the Preferences: Backend component of Mozilla Firefox, a privileged backend service handling browser preference data and IPC. A UAF in such a trusted process means a compromised content renderer can trigger reuse of freed memory across a privilege boundary, achieving the described sandbox escape rather than merely crashing the renderer. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H captures this: network-delivered content with low attack complexity, no authentication required, mandatory user interaction (visiting/rendering a crafted page), scope change (the exploit crosses from the sandboxed renderer to a more privileged context), and high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact once the escape succeeds. The affected CPE cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* with no version constraints, combined with the description, indicates all Firefox builds prior to 157 are in scope; the fixed build introduces the necessary lifetime management correction so freed memory is no longer reachable via the Preferences backend path.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Sources disagree (Medium–Critical)
Vendor (mozilla) PRIMARY 9.6 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 9.6 CRITICAL

Network-delivered crafted page (AV:N) needs only a victim page load (UI:R, PR:N); use-after-free escaping the content sandbox crosses a security boundary (S:C) with full C/I/A impact on the host.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 6.1 MEDIUM

vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.

CVSS VectorVendor: mozilla

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
CVSS changed
Sep 29, 2026 - 15:22 NVD
9.6 (CRITICAL)
CVE Published
Sep 29, 2026 - 12:36 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.6
CVE Published
Sep 29, 2026 - 12:36 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Preferences: Backend component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 157.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Mozilla Firefox versions before 157 contain a critical use-after-free in the Preferences: Backend component that enables a sandbox escape, allowing attacker-controlled web content to execute code with browser privileges. This affects all default-configuration Firefox users and could lead to endpoint compromise if a user loads malicious content, though no public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis. Leadership should prioritize upgrading to Firefox 157 to reduce this risk.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 79% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Firefox is one of the most widely deployed browsers worldwide
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

48
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +48
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2013-0758 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Jan 13

Mozilla Firefox before 18.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.12 and 17.x before 17.0.2, Thunderbird before 17.0.2, Thunderb

CVE-2013-0753 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Jan 13

Use-after-free vulnerability in the serializeToStream implementation in the XMLSerializer component in Mozilla Firefox b

CVE-2012-3993 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Oct 10

The Chrome Object Wrapper (COW) implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 16.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.8, Thunderbi

CVE-2013-1710 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Aug 07

The crypto.generateCRMFRequest function in Mozilla Firefox before 23.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.8, Thunderbird befo

CVE-2014-8636 HIGH POC
7.5 Jan 14

The XrayWrapper implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 35.0 and SeaMonkey before 2.32 does not properly interact with

CVE-2013-0757 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Jan 13

The Chrome Object Wrapper (COW) implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 18.0, Firefox ESR 17.x before 17.0.2, Thunderbi

CVE-2014-1510 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 19

The Web IDL implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 28.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.4, Thunderbird before 24.4, and Se

CVE-2014-1511 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 19

Mozilla Firefox before 28.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.4, Thunderbird before 24.4, and SeaMonkey before 2.25 allow remo

CVE-2016-1960 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 13

Integer underflow in the nsHtml5TreeBuilder class in the HTML5 string parser in Mozilla Firefox before 45.0 and Firefox

CVE-2015-0816 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Apr 01

Mozilla Firefox before 37.0, Firefox ESR 31.x before 31.6, and Thunderbird before 31.6 do not properly restrict resource

CVE-2015-0802 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Apr 01

Mozilla Firefox before 37.0 relies on docshell type information instead of page principal information for Window.webidl

CVE-2013-2566 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Mar 15

The RC4 algorithm, as used in the TLS protocol and SSL protocol, has many single-byte biases, which makes it easier for

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Affected

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