CVE-2019-11710 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE
Mozilla developers and community members reported memory safety bugs present in Firefox 67. Some of these bugs showed evidence of memory corruption and we presume that with enough effort that some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 68.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-11710 represents a critical memory safety issue discovered within Mozilla Firefox version 67 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from multiple memory safety bugs that were found during routine security auditing and community reporting processes. The nature of these bugs indicates potential memory corruption scenarios that could be exploited by malicious actors to gain unauthorized control over affected systems. The vulnerability specifically affects Firefox versions prior to 68, making it a significant concern for users who have not yet updated their browsers to the patched version.
The technical flaw underlying CVE-2019-11710 involves memory corruption vulnerabilities that can occur during normal browser operation. These memory safety issues typically arise from improper handling of memory allocation, deallocation, or access patterns within the browser's rendering engine and JavaScript interpreter. When these bugs are triggered, they can lead to unpredictable behavior including crashes, data corruption, or potentially more severe exploitation vectors. The presence of memory corruption vulnerabilities creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory contents and potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the browser process. According to CWE classification, these issues fall under CWE-122, which describes "Heap-based Buffer Overflow" and related heap corruption vulnerabilities that can lead to code execution.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-11710 extends beyond simple browser instability, as it represents a potential gateway for more sophisticated attacks. Attackers could leverage these memory corruption vulnerabilities to execute malicious code remotely through compromised web pages, potentially leading to full system compromise. The vulnerability's exploitation potential aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell", as attackers might use such vulnerabilities to deploy PowerShell-based payloads or other malicious tools. Users running affected Firefox versions face significant risk when browsing untrusted websites, as these memory corruption bugs can be triggered through normal web page rendering operations without requiring user interaction beyond visiting malicious sites.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-11710 primarily focus on immediate browser updates to version 68 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the memory safety issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all Firefox installations are updated promptly. Additional protective measures include enabling browser security features such as sandboxing, content security policies, and disabling unnecessary browser plugins that could increase the attack surface. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of defense. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and implement proper incident response procedures to handle potential compromise scenarios. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software and following security best practices to protect against memory corruption-based exploits that could lead to complete system compromise.