FF IDN buffer overflow workaround works in Netscape too

From: Juha-Matti Laurio (juha-matti.laurio_at_netti.fi)
Date: 09/16/05

  • Next message: innate_at_gmx.de: "worring about YaST in SuSE 9.3 and maybe lower" 
    Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 01:27:09 +0300 (EEST)
To: bugtraq@securityfocus.com

    Summary about Firefox IDN buffer overflow vulnerability workarounds in
    Netscape Browser

    [a new, more informative title used]

    Instructions and methods described at Mozilla Foundation Security
    Advisory "What Firefox and Mozilla users should know about the IDN
    buffer overflow security issue"
    https://addons.mozilla.org/messages/307259.html (yes, it was
    http://www.mozilla.org/security/idn.html earlier) can be used in Netscape too.
    This advisory has been included to security company advisories handling
    this security issue and mentioned in the news widely.

    Disabling IDN (Internationalized Domain Names) support via about:config
    Location Bar
    feature or prefs.js configuration file is possible in Netscape Browser 8
    too. Additionally, .xpi file for Firefox and Mozilla Suite works in
    Netscape 8.0.3.3 too. Test in Windows environment was successful and
    even UA was changed to include '....Gecko/20050729 <<(No IDN)>>
    Netscape/8.0.3.3' string.
    However, the manual method is recommended.
    Vendor developer team was contacted, no reply yet.

    Like US-CERT says in Firefox VU#573857: "While implementing this
    workaround does not correct the buffer overflow error, it prevents the
    vulnerable portion of code from being exploited."

    When an updated version of Netscape Browser 8 is available the download
    link is http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/download/default.jsp

    Regards,
    Juha-Matti Laurio
    Security researcher
    Finland

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