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CVE Record

CVE-2017-5433: A use-after-free vulnerability in SMIL animation functions occurs when pointers to animation elements in an...

A use-after-free vulnerability in SMIL animation functions occurs when pointers to animation elements in an array are dropped from the animation controller while still in use. This results in a potentially exploitable crash. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 52.1, Firefox ESR < 45.9, Firefox ESR < 52.1, and Firefox < 53.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2017-5433 is a Mozilla browser and email-client memory safety flaw. A specially crafted web or message context could trigger a use-after-free in SMIL animation handling, causing a potentially exploitable crash. It affects older Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird versions only.

Executive priority

Treat this as a legacy exposure cleanup item with high priority where affected clients remain. Modern supported Mozilla versions should already be fixed, but unmanaged or frozen endpoints may still carry browser-side risk.

Technical view

The flaw is a use-after-free in Mozilla SMIL animation functions. Animation element pointers could be removed from the animation controller while still being used. The CVE lists Thunderbird before 52.1, Firefox ESR before 45.9 and 52.1, and Firefox before 53 as affected.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on legacy endpoints, servers with GUI packages, VDI images, or long-lived Linux distributions still running affected Mozilla Firefox, Firefox ESR, or Thunderbird builds from before the 2017 advisories.

Exploitation context

The provided sources describe a potentially exploitable crash, but do not provide evidence of active exploitation. The CVE is not marked KEV in the supplied bundle, so active exploitation should not be assumed.

Researcher notes

Sources identify the vulnerable component and fixed version boundaries, but provide no CVSS vector, CWE, exploit details, or confirmed exploitation evidence in the supplied bundle. Avoid assuming code execution beyond the stated potentially exploitable crash.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Firefox to 53 or later where applicable.
  • Upgrade Firefox ESR to 45.9, 52.1, or later supported releases.
  • Upgrade Thunderbird to 52.1 or later.
  • Apply relevant Mozilla, Debian, or Red Hat security updates.
  • Check current vendor guidance for unsupported legacy deployments.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird versions across endpoints.
  • Confirm no systems run versions below the fixed release thresholds.
  • Review vulnerability scanner findings for CVE-2017-5433.
  • Check Linux package advisories for patched Mozilla package versions.
  • Verify legacy images and VDI pools were updated or retired.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
9

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2017-5433 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
10Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
MozillaThunderbirdunspecifiedListed
MozillaFirefox ESRunspecified, unspecifiedListed
MozillaFirefoxunspecifiedListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.