CVE-2016-2806 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 46.0 and Firefox ESR 45.x before 45.1 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 • 07/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2806 represents a critical security flaw within the browser engine of Mozilla Firefox versions prior to 46.0 and Firefox ESR 45.x versions before 45.1. This issue encompasses multiple unspecified vulnerabilities that collectively pose significant risks to user security and system stability. The affected browser engine components are responsible for processing web content and executing JavaScript code, making them prime targets for exploitation by malicious actors seeking to compromise user systems. The vulnerabilities stem from memory corruption issues that can lead to unpredictable behavior within the browser application.
The technical nature of these vulnerabilities manifests as memory corruption errors that occur during normal browser operation when processing specially crafted web content. Attackers can exploit these flaws through various attack vectors that remain unspecified in the initial CVE description, suggesting the presence of multiple distinct code paths that can trigger the underlying memory management issues. The memory corruption vulnerabilities typically arise from improper handling of memory allocations, buffer overflows, or use-after-free conditions within the browser's rendering engine. These issues can cause the browser to crash unexpectedly or potentially allow remote code execution when exploited successfully.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-2806 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to include potential remote code execution capabilities that could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to user systems. When exploited, these vulnerabilities can cause application crashes that disrupt user browsing sessions, while more sophisticated exploitation attempts may allow adversaries to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the browser process. The memory corruption aspects of these vulnerabilities align with common attack patterns described in the attack tree model, where initial exploitation attempts may start with denial of service before progressing to more advanced persistent threats. This vulnerability affects a broad user base since Firefox was widely adopted across different operating systems and deployment scenarios.
The exploitation of these vulnerabilities typically requires attackers to craft malicious web content that triggers the specific memory corruption patterns within the browser engine. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the browser engine could be targeted, including JavaScript engine components, rendering engines, or network processing modules. This broad attack surface increases the likelihood that attackers can find successful exploitation methods regardless of user browsing habits or security configurations. The vulnerability demonstrates the complexity of modern browser security and highlights the challenges faced by security teams in identifying and mitigating memory-related issues in large software codebases.
Organizations and users should immediately upgrade to Firefox version 46.0 or Firefox ESR 45.1 and later to mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2016-2806. The vulnerability classification aligns with CWE-119 and CWE-125 categories related to memory safety issues, and the attack patterns correspond to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the 'Exploitation' and 'Persistence' domains. Security teams should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and ensure that automated patch management systems are configured to deploy the security updates promptly. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining up-to-date software configurations and demonstrates the critical nature of timely security patch deployment in preventing successful exploitation attempts.