IRONSMITHINTEL
HIGHCVSS8.1
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2020-6820|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Mozilla Firefox And Thunderbird Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird contain a race condition vulnerability when handling a ReadableStream under certain conditions. The race condition creates a use-after-free vulnerability, causing unspecified impacts.

Published Apr 24, 2020 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-05-03 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Race Condition (CWE-362) vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. Under certain conditions, when handling a ReadableStream, a race condition can cause a use-after-free. We are aware of targeted attacks in the wild abusing this flaw. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 68.7.0, Firefox < 74.0.1, and Firefox ESR < 68.6.1. Exploitation requires remote network access, higher attack complexity, no authentication required, and no user interaction required.

📧

Phishing link

🖼

Malicious file

🔓

Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running firefox: v < 68.6.1, v < 74.0.1; thunderbird: v < 68.7.0
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2022-05-03.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2020-11/
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-6820
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-6820
PowerShell automationComing soon

No tested PowerShell script for this entry yet. We’re prioritising automation based on user demand.