CVE-2005-1160 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
The privileged "chrome" UI code in Firefox before 1.0.3 and Mozilla Suite before 1.7.7 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by overriding certain properties or methods of DOM nodes, as demonstrated using multiple attacks involving the eval function or the Script object.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-1160 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw in the Firefox browser and Mozilla Suite applications. This security issue stems from improper handling of privileged chrome UI code that operates with elevated permissions within the browser environment. The vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to Firefox 1.0.3 and Mozilla Suite 1.7.7, indicating a long-standing issue that persisted across multiple releases of these popular web browsers. The flaw resides in the browser's architecture where chrome UI code, which typically runs with higher privileges than regular web content, fails to properly validate or restrict access to certain DOM node properties and methods. This creates a dangerous condition where untrusted remote attackers can manipulate the browser's internal state through carefully crafted malicious code.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves exploiting the ability to override specific properties or methods of Document Object Model nodes within the browser's privileged context. Attackers can leverage this weakness by utilizing the eval function or Script object to execute malicious code that modifies the behavior of DOM elements. The attack vector specifically targets the chrome UI code's interaction with DOM nodes, where the privilege separation mechanism fails to prevent unauthorized modifications. This allows attackers to escalate their privileges from regular web content to the elevated permissions typically reserved for browser internals. The exploitation technique demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the browser's security model where the boundary between user-accessible DOM elements and privileged chrome code becomes permeable.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching within the browser security landscape. Successful exploitation enables attackers to gain elevated privileges that would normally be restricted to the browser's own internal components, potentially allowing them to access sensitive user data, modify browser functionality, or even execute arbitrary code with system-level privileges. This privilege escalation capability transforms a simple web-based attack into a potentially devastating security breach that could compromise the entire user environment. The vulnerability affects not just individual browsing sessions but represents a systemic weakness in the browser's architecture that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks. The fact that this vulnerability was present in widely used software versions means it could have been exploited against a large user base, making it particularly dangerous from a threat perspective.
The underlying cause of this vulnerability aligns with common security patterns identified in CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) categories related to privilege escalation and improper input validation. This flaw demonstrates a classic security boundary violation where the separation between trusted privileged code and untrusted user input becomes compromised. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and code injection methods that attackers can use to move laterally within the browser environment. The vulnerability also reflects issues commonly associated with sandbox escape techniques where attackers find ways to break out of restricted execution environments. Organizations and users affected by this vulnerability should immediately update to the patched versions of Firefox and Mozilla Suite, as the fix addresses the core privilege separation issue. Additionally, security teams should implement monitoring for suspicious DOM manipulation patterns and consider additional browser hardening measures to reduce the attack surface. The incident highlights the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date browser security and the need for robust privilege separation mechanisms in complex software applications.