CVE-2011-3665 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Mozilla Firefox 4.x through 8.0, Thunderbird 5.0 through 8.0, and SeaMonkey before 2.6 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via an Ogg VIDEO element that is not properly handled after scaling.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2021
This vulnerability affects Mozilla Firefox versions 4.0 through 8.0, Thunderbird versions 5.0 through 8.0, and SeaMonkey versions before 2.6, representing a critical denial of service flaw in multimedia handling capabilities. The issue stems from improper handling of Ogg video elements when they undergo scaling operations, creating a scenario where maliciously crafted media content can trigger application instability. This vulnerability falls under CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and specifically relates to improper input validation during media processing operations. The flaw occurs when the browser attempts to scale Ogg video content that has not been properly validated or handled, leading to memory corruption and subsequent application crashes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the multimedia subsystem's failure to properly validate video scaling parameters before processing Ogg video elements. When a web page contains an Ogg video element that is scaled beyond normal boundaries or in an unexpected manner, the underlying media handling code does not adequately check the integrity of the video data. This creates a condition where memory access violations can occur, potentially leading to application termination or more severe consequences depending on the execution context. The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-248, which addresses exposure of exception handling mechanisms, as the system fails to properly handle exceptions during video processing operations. Attackers can leverage this flaw by crafting malicious web pages containing specially formatted Ogg video elements that, when rendered by the affected browsers, trigger the memory corruption conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as it represents a potential vector for more sophisticated attacks depending on the execution environment. While the primary effect is application crash and system instability, the underlying memory corruption issues could potentially be exploited to execute arbitrary code if the browser's memory management is sufficiently compromised. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users may be exposed to untrusted web content, such as corporate networks or public browsing scenarios. The vulnerability affects multiple Mozilla products simultaneously, indicating a fundamental flaw in the shared multimedia processing libraries that are common across these applications, which increases the attack surface and potential impact. Organizations using these affected versions face significant risk of service disruption and potential exploitation for more advanced attacks.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected software versions, as the vulnerability affects multiple products in the Mozilla ecosystem. System administrators should prioritize updating Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey to versions that contain proper input validation and memory handling for Ogg video elements. Network-level defenses can include implementing content filtering to block Ogg video content or using web application firewalls to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of input validation in multimedia processing components, which should be addressed through comprehensive code reviews and security testing of media handling libraries. Organizations should consider implementing runtime monitoring to detect unusual memory access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, and establish incident response procedures for handling potential exploitation of this vulnerability in their environments.