CVE-2010-2751 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
The nsDocShell::OnRedirectStateChange function in docshell/base/nsDocShell.cpp in Mozilla Firefox 3.5.x before 3.5.11 and 3.6.x before 3.6.7, and SeaMonkey before 2.0.6, allows remote attackers to spoof the SSL security status of a document via vectors involving multiple requests, a redirect, and the history.back and history.forward JavaScript functions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-2751 represents a sophisticated cross-site scripting attack vector that exploits the document shell component of Mozilla Firefox and SeaMonkey browsers. This security flaw resides within the nsDocShell::OnRedirectStateChange function located in docshell/base/nsDocShell.cpp, which is responsible for managing the navigation and state changes of web documents within the browser environment. The vulnerability specifically targets the handling of SSL security status information during complex navigation scenarios involving redirects and browser history manipulation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of SSL security indicators when multiple HTTP requests occur in sequence, particularly when redirects are involved in the navigation process. When a user navigates through a series of pages that include redirects, the browser's document shell component fails to properly maintain or update the SSL security status information associated with the document. This malfunction occurs because the OnRedirectStateChange function does not adequately validate or update the security context when transitioning between different states in the browser's navigation history.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows remote attackers to manipulate the visual security indicators displayed to users, potentially deceiving them into believing they are browsing a secure HTTPS connection when they are actually interacting with an insecure HTTP page or a page that has been compromised during the navigation process. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages that utilize the history.back and history.forward JavaScript functions in combination with redirect sequences to manipulate the browser's security status display. This spoofing capability directly violates the fundamental security principle of providing accurate and reliable security indicators to users, which is essential for preventing man-in-the-middle attacks and credential theft.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-611, which addresses improper access control in web applications, and specifically relates to the broader category of security bypass vulnerabilities. The attack pattern follows techniques documented in the ATT&CK framework under T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage and T1566 for phishing methods. The flaw demonstrates a classic case of insufficient input validation and state management, where the browser fails to properly validate the security context during complex navigation scenarios involving redirects and history manipulation.
The remediation for this vulnerability required updating the affected browser versions to include proper validation of SSL security status information during redirect operations. The fix involved modifying the nsDocShell::OnRedirectStateChange function to ensure that the security state is properly maintained and updated when navigating through redirect sequences, particularly when using JavaScript history manipulation functions. Browser vendors implemented checks to prevent the propagation of incorrect security status information during multi-request navigation scenarios, effectively closing the gap that allowed attackers to spoof SSL indicators. Users were advised to upgrade to the patched versions of Firefox 3.5.11, Firefox 3.6.7, and SeaMonkey 2.0.6, which contained the necessary security patches to address this vulnerability.