CVE-2018-8351 in Edge
Summary
by MITRE
An information disclosure vulnerability exists when affected Microsoft browsers improperly allow cross-frame interaction, aka "Microsoft Browser Information Disclosure Vulnerability." This affects Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer 10.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/02/2023
The CVE-2018-8351 vulnerability represents a critical information disclosure flaw in Microsoft browsers that stems from improper handling of cross-frame interactions. This vulnerability specifically impacts Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer 10, creating a significant security risk for users of these affected browser versions. The issue arises from the browsers' insufficient validation mechanisms when processing frames and cross-origin content, allowing malicious actors to exploit the weakness through carefully crafted web pages that manipulate frame relationships.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the browsers' failure to properly enforce security boundaries between different frames and document contexts. When browsers process cross-frame interactions, they should maintain strict isolation between different security contexts to prevent unauthorized data access. However, in affected versions, the browser's frame handling logic contains a flaw that permits information leakage between frames that should remain isolated. This weakness enables attackers to access sensitive data from different frames or domains, potentially exposing user credentials, session information, or other confidential data that should remain protected.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for enterprise environments and individual users alike. Attackers can leverage this flaw to construct malicious web pages that exploit the cross-frame interaction weakness to extract information from legitimate web applications. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the browser level, meaning that successful exploitation can bypass traditional network-level security controls. Organizations using affected browser versions face potential data breaches, credential theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The attack surface extends beyond simple information disclosure to include potential privilege escalation scenarios where attackers might gain access to higher-privilege contexts through carefully constructed cross-frame attacks.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses "Information Exposure," and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1056.001 for Input Injection and T1071.001 for Application Layer Protocol. Security researchers have noted that this flaw particularly affects scenarios involving multi-frame web applications, single sign-on implementations, and web applications that rely on frame-based navigation. The attack vector typically involves hosting malicious content on a compromised website or through phishing campaigns that direct users to exploit the vulnerability. Mitigation strategies include applying Microsoft security updates, implementing proper content security policies, and configuring browsers to disable cross-frame interactions where possible. Organizations should also consider network-level protections such as web application firewalls and strict CSP headers to reduce the risk of exploitation. Browser vendors have addressed this issue through security patches, but organizations must ensure timely deployment of these updates to maintain effective protection against this information disclosure vulnerability.