CVE-2020-12388Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Sandbox escape via permissive process token DACL

Published May 26, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Sandbox escape in Mozilla Firefox before 76 and Firefox ESR before 68.8 allows attackers to escape a content-process sandbox on Windows. The Level 5 sandbox's primary-token default DACL grants one content process full access to peers, enabling capture of a newly spawned process before its privileged impersonation token is dropped. Exploitation requires code already running in one content process; successful abuse escapes the browser sandbox but does not itself establish initial code execution.

CVSS severity10.0
Critical
EPSS probability2.71%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Sandbox escape in Mozilla Firefox before 76 and Firefox ESR before 68.8 allows attackers to escape a content-process sandbox on Windows. The Level 5 sandbox's primary-token default DACL grants one content process full access to peers, enabling capture of a newly spawned process before its privileged impersonation token is dropped. Exploitation requires code already running in one content process; successful abuse escapes the browser sandbox but does not itself establish initial code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-12388
Published
May 26, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Mozilla
Product
Firefox
Classifications
CWE-20, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 26, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <76

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Mozilla · Firefoxversion=unspecified <76
Mozilla · Firefox ESRversion=unspecified <68.8

Published CVSS scores

10.0NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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