CVE-2020-26972Network attack vector

Browser crash via stale WebGL actor reference

Published Jan 7, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Use-after-free in WebGL in Mozilla Firefox before 84 allows remote attackers to trigger a potentially exploitable browser crash. WebGL omits a lifecycle check before GetLifecycleProxy reads an IPC actor reference whose manager has already died, leaving the actor stale. A network-delivered WebGL workload requires no authentication; the confirmed consequence is a crash, while reliable code execution is not publicly demonstrated.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.29%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in WebGL in Mozilla Firefox before 84 allows remote attackers to trigger a potentially exploitable browser crash. WebGL omits a lifecycle check before GetLifecycleProxy reads an IPC actor reference whose manager has already died, leaving the actor stale. A network-delivered WebGL workload requires no authentication; the confirmed consequence is a crash, while reliable code execution is not publicly demonstrated.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-26972
Published
Jan 7, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Mozilla
Product
Firefox
Classifications
CWE-416, T1203
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 7, 2021CVE 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 <84

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Mozilla · Firefoxversion=unspecified <84

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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