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Firefox_User sent us a link to a CNET News.com article about a security threat to Windows users with both Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer installed. The issue can allow an attacker to remotely trick Firefox into executing potentially malicious code. However, a user has to be running Internet Explorer to actually get exploited.

Security researcher Thor Larholm has published a description of how the security flaw works, including a proof-of-concept (though some have reported that they cannot get this to work). When installed on Windows, Firefox registers a URL protocol handler to handle firefoxurl:// URLs (this works much like a http:// or ftp:// URL protocol handler). If an IE user visits a webpage that tries to call a firefoxurl:// URL (for example, using an iframe), IE will launch Firefox with no further prompting, passing it the URL. Neither IE nor Firefox escape or sanitise the URL, which allows an attacker to inject additional parameters into the command line used to invoke Firefox. Used in combination with the -chrome parameter, the attacker can make Firefox execute dangerous JavaScript code.

There's some debate as to where the blame lies — is it IE for passing untrusted data to another application or Firefox for not validating input properly? SecurityFocus refers to the problem as a Microsoft Internet Explorer FirefoxURL Protocol Handler Command Injection Vulnerability, placing the blame with Redmond, whileSecunia calls it a Firefox "firefoxurl" URI Handler Registration Vulnerability, pointing the finger at Mozilla. News.com quotes Oliver Friedrichs ofSymantec's Security Response Center, who says, "It's a little bit of both."

On the official Mozilla Security Blog, the Mozilla Corporation's Window Synder (who used to work for Microsoft) says that a fix will be included in the forthcoming Firefox 2.0.0.5. That said, she seems to suggest that she considers this to be mostly a problem with IE, noting that Apple fixed a similar issue with Safari recently. However, according to the ZDNet Zero Day security weblog, Microsoft claims the firefoxurl:// bug "is not a vulnerability in a Microsoft product".

On his weblog, Jesper Johansson (who also used to work for Microsoft), says thefirefoxurl:// flaw is a Mozilla problem. He also provides instructions for unregistering the URL protocol handlers.

Source

Posted under Security, Software, Tech News