Critical Heap Buffer Overflow Vulnerability Fixed in Firefox and Thunderbird

Rohan Timalsina

September 27, 2023 - TuxCare expert team

The latest release of Mozilla Firefox, Firefox 117, arrived last month with new features and various security fixes. Now, in the newer update, Mozilla patched a critical heap buffer overflow vulnerability discovered in the libwebp library in Firefox 117.

Tracked as CVE-2023-4863, this vulnerability is also addressed in other products of Mozilla, including Firefox ESR 102.15.1, Firefox ESR 115.2.1, Thunderbird 102.15.1, and Thunderbird 115.2.2.

For individuals who are already using Firefox and Thunderbird, it is crucial to upgrade to the most recent version that includes the fix for the vulnerability. The update is readily accessible through the stable software repositories of your Linux distribution.

Understanding Heap Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

First, let’s understand what buffer overflow vulnerability is. When data is written exceeding the buffer size into a buffer, a buffer overflow vulnerability occurs. This could enable attackers to crash the applications or write malicious code into a desired storage space.

One of the common types of buffer overflow vulnerability is heap-based buffer overflow.

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability occurs when a program writes more data to a dynamically allocated memory area (heap) than it can hold. This often happens due to improper input validation or memory management errors.

Attackers can use this flaw to overwrite critical data structures in a heap, including function pointers or control data, which could cause the program to behave in an unexpected or malicious way.

How to Mitigate Such Vulnerabilities?

Usually, software vendors address buffer overflow vulnerabilities by releasing patches, which end users can then apply to protect their systems. However, manual patching can be disruptive and resource-intensive.

This is where KernelCare Enterprise steps in, offering an automated and non-disruptive patching solution. It minimizes resource consumption and eliminates any downtime associated with the patching process.

KernelCare supports live patching for all major enterprise Linux distributions, including Debian, RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Cloud Linux, Rocky Linux, and more.

Speak to TuxCare experts to learn more about KernelCare Enterprise and how it mitigates security vulnerabilities with zero downtime.

The sources for this article include a story from Mozilla.

Summary