Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Mozilla Patches Zero-Day Flaw in Firefox

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    December 1, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Mozilla

      Late afternoon on November 30, Mozilla rushed out an emergency update for its open-source Firefox web browser, fixing a zero-day vulnerability that was being actively exploited by attackers. The vulnerability was used in attacks against the Tor web browser which is based on Firefox.

      The first public report of the Tor Browser attack emerged on November 29, in a post on the Tor mailing list. The Tor project is an effort that makes use of a global network of routers that aims to help provide a degree of anonymity and privacy for users. The TorBrowser is built on top of Firefox and integrates the Tor network, as well as additionally privacy tools.

      Among the configuration options that are part of the Tor Browser is a feature called the security slider, which can reduce the potential attack surface of the browser. As the security slider level is increased from low to high, browser capabilities that have been known to have had vulnerabilities in the past are progressively disabled.

      “If you slide your security slider to high, you won’t be vulnerable to this issue,” Roger Dingledine, co-founder of Tor wrote in a mailing list message.

      The actual vulnerability in Firefox is identified as CVE-2016-9079 and is a remote code use-after-free memory flaw in the SVG animation library used in Firefox. The flaw could have been used by an attacker to effectively de-anonymize a user, providing the victimized system’s IP and MAC address.

      In a bugzilla code tracking entry that details the flaw, Daniel Veditz, security lead at Mozilla commented that an administrator at the obscuredfiles.com received a sample of an attack against the SVG vulnerability as an email attachment. The actual payload of the exploits works on Microsoft Windows systems, though the same underlying flaw in SVG also exists on macOS and Linux versions of Firefox as well.

      The patch for CVE-2016-9079 is now present in the Firefox 50.0.2 update as well as the Tor Browser 6.0.7 release.

      While it’s not currently clear which group of attackers might have been exploiting the CVE-2016-9079 vulnerability, in a blog post, Veditz notes that the attack has similarity to one used by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In May, Mozilla launched a legal challenge to the FBI to disclose details about software flaws that might impact the Firefox Web browser. The FBI made use of an undisclosed technique in order to de-anonymyze TorBrowser users as part of a criminal investigation.

      “If this exploit was in fact developed and deployed by a government agency, the fact that it has been published and can now be used by anyone to attack Firefox users is a clear demonstration of how supposedly limited government hacking can become a threat to the broader Web,” Veditz wrote.

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×