CVE-2018-1000559: Qutebrowser Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m4fw-77v7-924m
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-1000559 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Qutebrowser libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves qutebrowser xss vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.3.3.

CVE-2018-1000559 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-1000559
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m4fw-77v7-924m
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Qutebrowser
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2018-1000559

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Qutebrowser dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

qutebrowser fixed: 1.3.3 
pip install qutebrowser>=1.3.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show qutebrowser

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2018-1000559, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show qutebrowser

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Qutebrowser in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.3.3), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show qutebrowser command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Qutebrowser, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

qutebrowser version introduced in v0.11.0 ([1179ee7a937fb31414d77d9970bac21095358449](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f)) contains a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in history command, `qute://history` page that can result in Via injected JavaScript code, a website can steal the user's browsing history. This attack appear to be exploitable via the victim must open a page with a specially crafted `<title>` attribute, and then open the `qute://history` site via the `:history` command. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in fixed in v1.3.3 ([4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7), to be released today) and v1.4.0 ([5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f), released later this week).

CVE-2018-1000559 Affected Qutebrowser Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.3.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
qutebrowser
pypi/qutebrowser
PyPI
≥ 0.11.0
< 1.3.3
1.3.3

References

NVD — CVE-2018-1000559 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000559
Qutebrowser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/issues/4011
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m4fw-77v7-924m
Qutebrowser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/qutebrowser/PYSEC-2018-26.yaml
Qutebrowser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-1000559?
CVE-2018-1000559 is a security vulnerability in Qutebrowser involving Qutebrowser XSS Vulnerability under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Qutebrowser versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.3.3 across affected packages: qutebrowser.
What version fixes CVE-2018-1000559?
Upgrading to 1.3.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is qutebrowser affected?
Yes, qutebrowser is affected in releases prior to 1.3.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.3.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-1000559?
CVE-2018-1000559 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-1000559?
CVE-2018-1000559 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2018-1000559?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show qutebrowser'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-m4fw-77v7-924m",
  "modified" : "2024-10-25T21:36:47Z",
  "published" : "2018-09-13T15:47:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-1000559" ],
  "summary" : "Qutebrowser XSS Vulnerability",
  "details" : "qutebrowser version introduced in v0.11.0 ([1179ee7a937fb31414d77d9970bac21095358449](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f)) contains a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in history command, `qute://history` page that can result in Via injected JavaScript code, a website can steal the user's browsing history. This attack appear to be exploitable via the victim must open a page with a specially crafted `<title>` attribute, and then open the `qute://history` site via the `:history` command. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in fixed in v1.3.3 ([4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7), to be released today) and v1.4.0 ([5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f), released later this week).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "qutebrowser"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.11.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.3.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000559"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/issues/4011"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/4c9360237f186681b1e3f2a0f30c45161cf405c7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/5a7869f2feaa346853d2a85413d6527c87ef0d9f"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m4fw-77v7-924m"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/qutebrowser/PYSEC-2018-26.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:44:51Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}