CVE-2018-12381 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A vulnerability in Firefox ESR and Firefox versions allows for page navigation when dragging and dropping Outlook email messages.

Understanding CVE-2018-12381

What is CVE-2018-12381?

When an Outlook email message is moved from the desktop to the browser using drag and drop, a page navigation occurs if the email's mail columns are mistakenly recognized as a web address. This issue impacts Windows OS with Outlook installed.

The Impact of CVE-2018-12381

This vulnerability affects Firefox ESR versions prior to 60.2 and Firefox versions prior to 62.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-12381

Vulnerability Description

Manually dragging and dropping an Outlook email message into the browser triggers page navigation when the message's mail columns are incorrectly interpreted as a URL.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Products: Firefox ESR, Firefox
Versions: Firefox ESR < 60.2, Firefox < 62

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability occurs when dragging and dropping Outlook email messages, leading to unintended page navigation.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Firefox to version 60.2 for ESR and version 62 for Firefox to mitigate the vulnerability.
Avoid dragging and dropping Outlook email messages into the browser.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update browsers and software to the latest versions.
Exercise caution when handling sensitive information via email attachments.

Patching and Updates

Apply security patches provided by Mozilla to address the vulnerability.