CVE-2005-2114 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Mozilla 1.7.8, Firefox 1.0.4, Camino 0.8.4, Netscape 8.0.2, and K-Meleon 0.9, and possibly other products that use the Gecko engine, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via JavaScript that repeatedly calls an empty function.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2114 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting multiple web browsers that utilize the Gecko rendering engine. This vulnerability specifically targets versions including Mozilla 1.7.8, Firefox 1.0.4, Camino 0.8.4, Netscape 8.0.2, and K-Meleon 0.9, with the potential impact extending to other products leveraging the same engine architecture. The flaw manifests through malicious JavaScript code that exploits a specific behavioral pattern within the browser's JavaScript engine implementation.
The technical mechanism underlying this vulnerability involves the repeated invocation of empty functions within JavaScript execution contexts. When attackers craft JavaScript code that continuously calls empty functions, the browser's JavaScript engine enters into an infinite loop or excessive resource consumption state. This occurs because the Gecko engine fails to properly optimize or terminate execution of such repetitive function calls, leading to uncontrolled memory usage and eventual application instability. The vulnerability operates at the interpreter level where the JavaScript engine processes these repeated function calls without adequate safeguards against such patterns.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to end users and system administrators alike. Remote attackers can exploit this flaw by delivering malicious web pages containing the specific JavaScript payload through various attack vectors including phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or malicious advertisements. The impact translates to complete application crashes, forcing users to manually restart their browsers and potentially lose unsaved work. In enterprise environments, this could lead to widespread disruption of productivity and increased support overhead. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it a passive threat that can affect users regardless of their security awareness.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-400, which categorizes it as an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption or Resource Exhaustion weakness. This classification reflects the browser's failure to properly manage system resources when processing malicious JavaScript code. Additionally, from an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploiting application vulnerabilities to cause system instability and denial of service conditions. The lack of input validation and proper resource management in the JavaScript engine constitutes a fundamental security flaw that allows attackers to consume excessive computational resources without proper bounds checking.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate software updates and patches provided by the affected vendors. Users should upgrade to patched versions of their browsers, which typically include enhanced JavaScript engine optimizations and resource management controls. Organizations should implement browser security policies that restrict JavaScript execution in sensitive environments, though this approach may impact legitimate website functionality. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls and content filtering systems can help detect and block malicious JavaScript payloads, though they may not prevent all variants of this attack. System administrators should also consider implementing browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary JavaScript features and monitoring for unusual resource consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.