The implementation of Brave Desktops privacy-preserving analytics system (P3A) between 1.1 and 1.18.35 logged the timestamp of when the user last opened an incognito window, including Tor windows. The intended behavior was to log the timestamp for incognito windows excluding Tor windows. Note that if a user has P3A enabled, the timestamp is not sent to Braves server, but rather a value from:Used in last 24hUsed in last week but not 24hUsed in last 28 days but not weekEver used but not in last 28 daysNever usedThe privacy risk is low because a local attacker with disk access cannot tell if the timestamp corresponds to a Tor window or a non-Tor incognito window.
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brave | Brave | 1.1 (including) | 1.18.35 (including) |
Because the information is stored in cleartext (i.e., unencrypted), attackers could potentially read it. Even if the information is encoded in a way that is not human-readable, certain techniques could determine which encoding is being used, then decode the information. When organizations adopt cloud services, it can be easier for attackers to access the data from anywhere on the Internet. In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of “double encryption” (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.