CVE-2012-1955 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Mozilla Firefox 4.x through 13.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.6, Thunderbird 5.0 through 13.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.6, and SeaMonkey before 2.11 allow remote attackers to spoof the address bar via vectors involving history.forward and history.back calls.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2024
This vulnerability exists in multiple Mozilla products including Firefox versions 4.0 through 13.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.6, Thunderbird versions 5.0 through 13.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.6, and SeaMonkey before 2.11. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the browser's address bar display through specific JavaScript history manipulation techniques involving history.forward and history.back API calls. This represents a significant security issue as it enables attackers to create deceptive user experiences that can lead to phishing attacks and other social engineering exploits.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper validation of history navigation operations within the browser's rendering engine. When attackers execute history.forward and history.back JavaScript calls, the browser fails to properly validate or sanitize the navigation context, allowing malicious code to manipulate the displayed URL in the address bar. This creates a false sense of security for users who may believe they are visiting a legitimate website when in fact they are viewing content from a different origin. The vulnerability specifically affects the browser's user interface elements rather than core security boundaries, making it particularly dangerous as it directly impacts user trust and perception of website authenticity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables sophisticated phishing attacks where attackers can make users believe they are visiting trusted domains. This type of attack falls under the attack technique category of credential harvesting and user deception, as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass normal security warnings and user verification mechanisms, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information, financial data theft, and other malicious activities. Users may unknowingly enter credentials or personal information on compromised pages that appear to be legitimate sites due to the spoofed address bar display.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-601 URL Redirector Abuse, which specifically addresses the issue of web applications failing to validate or sanitize URL redirects and navigation operations. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and inadequate security controls in the browser's history management system. Organizations should immediately update to patched versions of their Mozilla products, as the affected versions are no longer supported and contain multiple security vulnerabilities. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing browser security policies, user education about phishing detection, and monitoring for suspicious navigation patterns in web applications. Additionally, security teams should consider deploying web application firewalls and implementing proper content security policies to further reduce the attack surface and protect against similar exploitation techniques.