CVE-2014-1529 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
The Web Notification API in Mozilla Firefox before 29.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.5, Thunderbird before 24.5, and SeaMonkey before 2.26 allows remote attackers to bypass intended source-component restrictions and execute arbitrary JavaScript code in a privileged context via a crafted web page for which Notification.permission is granted.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-1529 represents a critical security flaw within the Web Notification API implementation across multiple Mozilla products including Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey. This issue stems from inadequate validation of notification source components, creating a privilege escalation vector that allows remote attackers to execute malicious JavaScript code within privileged contexts. The vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to Firefox 29.0, Firefox ESR 24.x before 24.5, Thunderbird before 24.5, and SeaMonkey before 2.26, indicating a widespread impact across the Mozilla ecosystem.
The technical flaw resides in how the Web Notification API handles permission grants and source validation. When a web page requests notification permission through Notification.permission, the API should enforce strict source-component restrictions to prevent malicious code execution. However, the implementation failed to properly validate the originating source of notification requests, allowing attackers to craft malicious web pages that could bypass these security checks. This validation failure creates a scenario where a granted permission can be exploited to execute arbitrary JavaScript code with elevated privileges typically reserved for trusted system components.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to perform privilege escalation attacks that could compromise user systems. By leveraging the notification permission mechanism, malicious actors can execute code in contexts where normal security restrictions do not apply, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability allows for the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code within privileged contexts, which could enable attackers to access sensitive user data, manipulate browser functionality, or perform other malicious activities that would normally be restricted. This type of attack falls under the category of cross-site scripting and privilege escalation vulnerabilities that can severely undermine user security.
The security implications extend beyond simple code execution, as this vulnerability directly relates to CWE-264, which addresses permissions, privileges, and access controls. The flaw represents a failure in proper access control enforcement within the browser's notification system, allowing untrusted code to operate with elevated privileges. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and code injection, specifically targeting the browser's notification subsystem to gain unauthorized access to privileged execution contexts. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of affected products, as well as monitoring for suspicious notification requests that might indicate exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and access control enforcement in web APIs. The flaw highlights how seemingly innocuous permission systems can become attack vectors when proper validation mechanisms are absent. Security practitioners should consider implementing additional monitoring for notification-related activities and ensure that all browser components undergo rigorous security testing, particularly those handling user permissions and privileged operations. The incident underscores the necessity of maintaining up-to-date software versions and the potential consequences of delayed patch deployment in security-critical components.