CVE-2012-0456 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
The SVG Filters implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 3.6.28 and 4.x through 10.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.3, Thunderbird before 3.1.20 and 5.0 through 10.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.3, and SeaMonkey before 2.8 might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via vectors that trigger an out-of-bounds read.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0456 represents a critical memory safety issue within the Scalable Vector Graphics filters implementation of Mozilla Firefox and related products. This flaw exists in versions prior to specific security patches and affects both the main browser application and email clients that utilize the same rendering engine. The vulnerability specifically manifests in the processing of SVG filter operations where improper bounds checking allows for out-of-bounds memory reads. Such issues typically arise from insufficient validation of user-supplied data during graphical processing operations, creating potential entry points for attackers to extract sensitive information from the application's memory space.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when malicious SVG content is rendered by the affected browsers, triggering an out-of-bounds read condition within the filter processing code. This memory access violation allows remote attackers to read data from adjacent memory locations, potentially exposing sensitive information such as passwords, session tokens, or other confidential data that may be stored in the application's memory. The flaw falls under the category of memory corruption vulnerabilities and aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to information disclosure and potentially more severe exploitation vectors. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability through crafted SVG files delivered via web pages or email attachments, making it particularly dangerous in phishing and social engineering campaigns.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-0456 extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the ability to read arbitrary memory locations provides attackers with significant reconnaissance capabilities. This vulnerability can be exploited in conjunction with other techniques to achieve more sophisticated attacks, including privilege escalation or denial of service conditions. The affected products include multiple versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey, indicating a widespread impact across Mozilla's product ecosystem. Organizations running these vulnerable versions face increased risk of data breaches and targeted attacks, particularly in environments where users may encounter untrusted SVG content. The vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of proper bounds checking in graphics processing libraries and highlights the challenges of securing complex rendering engines that must handle diverse input formats.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of all affected versions to prevent exploitation. System administrators should prioritize updating Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey installations to their latest secure versions, particularly focusing on the Firefox ESR releases that were also affected. Organizations should implement network-level protections such as web application firewalls and content filtering solutions to block potentially malicious SVG content. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual memory access patterns or attempts to read sensitive data from system processes. The vulnerability also underscores the necessity of regular security assessments and vulnerability management programs to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited in the wild. This case demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against memory corruption vulnerabilities that can lead to information disclosure and system compromise.