CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2023-29537

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Published: Jun 02, 2023 | Modified: Nov 21, 2024
CVSS 3.x
7.5
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

Multiple race conditions in the font initialization could have led to memory corruption and execution of attacker-controlled code. This vulnerability affects Firefox for Android < 112, Firefox < 112, and Focus for Android < 112.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Firefox Mozilla * 112.0 (excluding)
Focus Mozilla * 112.0 (excluding)
Firefox Ubuntu bionic *
Firefox Ubuntu focal *
Firefox Ubuntu trusty *
Firefox Ubuntu upstream *
Firefox Ubuntu xenial *
Mozjs38 Ubuntu bionic *
Mozjs38 Ubuntu esm-apps/bionic *
Mozjs38 Ubuntu upstream *
Mozjs52 Ubuntu bionic *
Mozjs52 Ubuntu esm-apps/focal *
Mozjs52 Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Mozjs52 Ubuntu focal *
Mozjs52 Ubuntu upstream *
Mozjs68 Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Mozjs68 Ubuntu focal *
Mozjs68 Ubuntu upstream *
Mozjs78 Ubuntu esm-apps/jammy *
Mozjs78 Ubuntu jammy *
Mozjs78 Ubuntu kinetic *
Mozjs78 Ubuntu lunar *
Mozjs78 Ubuntu upstream *
Mozjs91 Ubuntu jammy *
Mozjs91 Ubuntu upstream *
Thunderbird Ubuntu bionic *
Thunderbird Ubuntu kinetic *
Thunderbird Ubuntu trusty *
Thunderbird Ubuntu xenial *

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

  • Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
  • Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

References