CVE-2022-31748 in Firefox
Summary
by MITRE • 12/22/2022
Mozilla developers Gabriele Svelto, Timothy Nikkel, Randell Jesup, Jon Coppeard, and the Mozilla Fuzzing Team reported memory safety bugs present in Firefox 100. Some of these bugs showed evidence of memory corruption and we presume that with enough effort some of these could have been exploited to run arbitrary code. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 101.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2025
This memory safety vulnerability in Firefox versions prior to 101 represents a critical class of issues that fall under the common weakness enumeration CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write and CWE-788 Out-of-bounds Read categories. The vulnerability stems from multiple memory corruption flaws discovered through extensive fuzzing efforts by the Mozilla security team including developers Gabriele Svelto, Timothy Nikkel, Randell Jesup, Jon Coppeard, and the Mozilla Fuzzing Team. These memory safety issues manifest as potential out-of-bounds memory access conditions that could result in arbitrary code execution when exploited by malicious actors. The nature of these bugs suggests they could be leveraged through sophisticated attack vectors that manipulate memory allocation and deallocation processes within the browser's rendering engine.
The technical flaw exploits fundamental memory management weaknesses in Firefox's JavaScript engine and web rendering components where improper bounds checking allows attackers to write beyond allocated memory regions or read from invalid memory locations. These vulnerabilities represent a significant concern as they could enable remote code execution when a user visits a malicious website or interacts with crafted content that triggers the vulnerable code paths. The memory corruption issues typically occur during processing of web content including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and multimedia elements where the browser's memory management systems fail to properly validate input data boundaries.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability affects all Firefox users running versions earlier than 101, creating a substantial risk surface for targeted attacks. The potential for arbitrary code execution means that successful exploitation could allow attackers to fully compromise user systems, potentially leading to data theft, persistent backdoor installation, or further network infiltration. Attackers could leverage these memory corruption issues through techniques aligned with the attack pattern taxonomy, specifically targeting the browser's memory management subsystems to achieve code execution in the context of the Firefox process. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is particularly concerning as it could be automated through drive-by download scenarios where visiting a compromised website automatically triggers the malicious code execution.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrading to Firefox version 101 or later where these memory safety issues have been addressed through comprehensive code reviews and memory management improvements. Organizations should implement automated patch management systems to ensure all Firefox installations are updated promptly. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls, content security policies, and browser hardening configurations that limit the attack surface. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, as these vulnerabilities often manifest through specific memory access patterns that can be detected by advanced threat hunting techniques. The remediation process should also include user education regarding safe browsing practices and the importance of keeping software current with security patches.