External risk intelligence

JavaScript Type Confusion in Browsers and Email Clients.

CVE advisoryKnown Exploit

CVE-2019-11707

A JavaScript type confusion vulnerability in Mozilla products can lead to exploitable crashes, impacting system stability and data integrity. Targeted attacks are known to exploit this flaw, posing a business risk of unauthorized access. Organizations should apply vendor updates to affected software.

1Halo Surface Signal

Mozilla Firefox

before 60.7.1before 67.0.3before 60.7.2

External exposure likelihood

Halo Surface Signal score for CVE-2019-11707

This vulnerability exists within client-side software (web browsers and email clients). It requires a user to interact with malicious or specially crafted web content to be triggered. As a client-side application, it does not function as an internet-facing service, gateway, or network-accessible endpoint in standard deployments.

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This vulnerability impacts Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird applications. A flaw in how JavaScript objects are managed, specifically within the Array.pop function, can lead to exploitable crashes. Such crashes could disrupt services and potentially allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems or data.

  • Vulnerable Mozilla applications
  • JavaScript object manipulation flaw
  • Potential system and data compromise

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

A type confusion vulnerability in JavaScript object manipulation can lead to a crash that attackers can exploit. This flaw has been observed in targeted attacks. Organizations using affected software face risks to system stability and data integrity.

  • Exposure condition: User interaction with malicious content.
  • Attacker starting point: Network access.
  • Trigger and result: Exploitable crash and potential control.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

A type confusion vulnerability in JavaScript object manipulation could allow for an exploitable crash. This flaw has been observed in targeted attacks, presenting a risk to organizations using affected software. The potential for severe impact warrants prompt attention to mitigate business risk.

  • Sophisticated attackers could exploit this.
  • Requires user interaction with malicious content.
  • Potential for significant business disruption.

Priority actions

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

A type confusion vulnerability has been identified in certain Mozilla products, which can lead to exploitable crashes when manipulating JavaScript objects. Targeted attacks in the wild are known to be exploiting this flaw. The business risk associated with this vulnerability involves potential system compromise and data integrity issues if exploited.

  • Find all instances of affected Mozilla software.
  • Reduce exposure by disabling the affected components.
  • Apply vendor updates and validate the fix.
  • Monitor for related security incidents.

Frequently asked questions

What specific JavaScript function manipulation leads to CVE-2019-11707 in Firefox and Thunderbird?

CVE-2019-11707 arises from a type confusion vulnerability during the manipulation of JavaScript objects, specifically within the Array.pop function. This flaw can trigger exploitable crashes in affected Mozilla applications.

How is the weakness of CVE-2019-11707 classified?

CVE-2019-11707 is classified as CWE-843, which denotes 'Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type' or 'Type Confusion.' This weakness occurs when a resource is allocated or initialized using one type but is later accessed using an incompatible type, potentially leading to logical errors or memory corruption.

What is the trigger for CVE-2019-11707 and what is its scope?

The vulnerability is triggered when a user interacts with a specially crafted web page or content. Successful exploitation can lead to an exploitable crash, and in some scenarios, it has been reported to enable remote code execution or universal cross-site scripting (UXSS), indicating a broad impact on the user's system.

Why is CVE-2019-11707 a significant concern for organizations?

This vulnerability is a significant concern because it has been actively exploited in the wild through targeted attacks. It affects widely used applications like Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, posing risks of system compromise and data integrity issues. Its 'High' severity rating and known exploitation underscore the need for immediate attention.

What steps should be taken to address CVE-2019-11707?

To address CVE-2019-11707, users should update Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird to versions that contain the security patches. Applying vendor updates is the primary recommended action, as there are no readily available workarounds outside of updating the software.

References