Mozilla Firefox nsXULCommandDispatcher Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Vulnerability Details
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Firefox. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within the nsXULCommandDispatcher.cpp source code. During a NS_XUL_COMMAND_UPDATE event dispatch, the user is able to force command dispatcher to remove all the updaters in the mUpdaters chain including the one that is currently in use. As a result, the local variable updater becomes a stale pointer and updater->mNext refers to memory previously freed. Successful exploitation can lead to code execution in the context of the browser.
Additional Details
Mozilla has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2011/mfsa2011-23.html
Disclosure Timeline
- 2011-04-04 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
- 2011-06-21 - Coordinated public release of advisory
Credit
regenrecht
