Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-26486 is a critical Mozilla browser and mail-client flaw that could let an attacker escape the browser sandbox after user interaction. Mozilla reported attacks in the wild, and CISA lists it in KEV. Treat any outdated affected Mozilla product as urgent exposure.
Executive priority
Immediate remediation is warranted because the vulnerability is critical, remotely reachable with user interaction, affects common Mozilla software, and has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation evidence.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-416 use-after-free caused by an unexpected message in Mozilla's WebGPU IPC framework. The CVSS 3.1 score is 9.6 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, required user interaction, changed scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints or mobile devices running Firefox before 97.0.2, Firefox ESR before 91.6.1, Firefox for Android or Focus before 97.3.0, or Thunderbird before 91.6.2.
Exploitation context
Active exploitation is supported by Mozilla's statement that attacks in the wild abused the flaw and by CISA KEV inclusion. Sources do not provide public exploit details, attacker identity, campaign scope, or indicators in this bundle.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies the vulnerable component and fixed product versions, but the Bugzilla details may be restricted. The bundle does not include exploit mechanics, indicators, campaign attribution, or non-upgrade mitigations.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Firefox to 97.0.2 or later.
- Upgrade Firefox ESR to 91.6.1 or later.
- Upgrade Firefox for Android and Focus to 97.3.0 or later.
- Upgrade Thunderbird to 91.6.2 or later.
- Prioritize managed endpoints and mobile devices running affected Mozilla clients.
- Check Mozilla and CISA guidance for any later vendor direction.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Mozilla product names and versions across endpoints.
- Confirm no affected product remains below its fixed version.
- Use vulnerability management results to track CVE-2022-26486 closure.
- Verify mobile device management reports for Android Firefox and Focus versions.
- Review endpoint telemetry for affected-version launches during the exposure window.
Public sources used
Michael Williams reviewed this cited source version on .
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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CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-26486 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H2.86Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.6CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2022-09/CVE reference
- https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1758070CVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-26486CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.