CVE-2015-4473 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 40.0 and Firefox ESR 38.x before 38.2 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4473 represents a critical security flaw within the browser engine of Mozilla Firefox versions prior to 40.0 and Firefox ESR 38.x versions prior to 38.2. This issue falls under the category of unspecified vulnerabilities, indicating that the specific technical details of the underlying flaw were not fully disclosed in the initial vulnerability report. The affected components reside within the core browser engine responsible for rendering web content and processing user interactions, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could potentially be exploited by malicious actors to compromise user systems.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests through memory corruption issues that can lead to application crashes or, in more severe cases, arbitrary code execution. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically occur when software writes data to memory locations where it should not be writing, potentially overwriting critical program data or executable code. This type of flaw often stems from inadequate input validation, buffer overflows, or improper memory management practices within the browser engine. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the browser engine may be susceptible to similar memory corruption patterns, making the vulnerability particularly challenging to fully assess and mitigate.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for end users and organizations relying on affected Firefox versions. The potential for denial of service attacks means that attackers could repeatedly crash the browser application, disrupting user productivity and potentially causing system instability. More concerning is the possibility of arbitrary code execution, which would allow attackers to gain complete control over affected systems. This could lead to data theft, system compromise, or the installation of additional malicious software. The vulnerability affects both regular Firefox releases and the Extended Support Release versions, indicating it impacts a wide user base that may be slower to update due to enterprise deployment constraints or compatibility concerns.
Organizations and individuals should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Firefox version 40.0 or later, or Firefox ESR 38.2 or later, respectively. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-119, which addresses "Improper Access to Memory Location" and represents a classic example of memory safety issues that have been the focus of numerous security research efforts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1203, "Exploitation for Client Execution," as it enables attackers to execute malicious code on target systems through browser-based attack vectors. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with T1059, "Command and Scripting Interpreter," as successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary commands on compromised systems. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider deploying browser security extensions or sandboxing solutions as additional defensive measures. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date software configurations and highlights the critical need for organizations to establish robust patch management processes to protect against such memory corruption threats.