CVE-2019-17021 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A race condition during the initiation of a new content process in Firefox ESR and Firefox versions before 68.4 and 72 respectively, can lead to heap address exposure on Windows systems.

Understanding CVE-2019-17021

This CVE involves a vulnerability in Firefox ESR and Firefox versions that can potentially disclose heap addresses from the parent process during content process initialization on Windows.

What is CVE-2019-17021?

A race condition occurs during the initiation of a new content process in Firefox ESR and Firefox versions before 68.4 and 72 respectively.
The vulnerability allows the exposure of heap addresses from the parent process, impacting Windows operating systems exclusively.

The Impact of CVE-2019-17021

Limited to Windows operating systems, this vulnerability can lead to the disclosure of sensitive heap addresses.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-17021

This section provides more in-depth technical insights into the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

A race condition in the initiation of a new content process in Firefox ESR and Firefox versions.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected versions include Firefox ESR versions before 68.4 and Firefox versions before 72.

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability is exploited during the initiation of a new content process, allowing the exposure of heap addresses from the parent process.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2019-17021 is crucial to maintaining security.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Firefox ESR to version 68.4 or later and Firefox to version 72 or later.
Consider restricting access to sensitive information until the patch is applied.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update browsers and other software to the latest versions.
Implement security best practices to prevent and detect vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Apply the latest patches and updates provided by Mozilla to address CVE-2019-17021.