FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla
CVE-2015-7190
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Search feature in Mozilla Firefox before 42.0 on Android through 4.4 supports search-engine URL registration through an intent and can access this URL in a privileged context in conjunction with the crash reporter, which allows attackers to read log files and visit file: URLs of HTML documents via a crafted application.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThe Search feature in Mozilla Firefox before 42.0 on Android 4.4 and earlier supports search-engine URL registration through an Android intent. This registered URL can be accessed in a privileged context in conjunction with the crash reporter, allowing a malicious application to read log files and visit file: URLs of HTML documents.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
FirefoxWeb browser
<= 41.0.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Firefox for Android versionOpen Firefox for Android, tap the menu (three dots), go to Settings > About Firefox. Alternatively, check via Android Settings > Apps > Firefox, or run 'adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox' to view versionInfo.Affected if Version number is 41.0.2 or lower (any version up to and including 41.0.2)
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Identify Android OS versionGo to Android Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if Android version is 4.4 (KitKat) or earlier (4.4, 4.3, 4.2, etc.)
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Confirm search feature configurationIn Firefox for Android, access the search settings. The vulnerability involves search-engine URL registration through Android intent. Check if custom search engines can be added or modified via the search bar settings.Affected if Search feature is enabled and custom search engine URL registration is accessible on the device
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Verify crash reporter accessibilityThe vulnerability allows access to the crash reporter in a privileged context. While this is a design aspect, confirm the device has not applied any additional restrictions on Firefox components.Affected if Firefox crash reporter feature is accessible and can be invoked from within the search engine context
You are affected if Firefox for Android version is 41.0.2 or lower AND the device runs Android 4.4 or earlier, since the search engine URL registration through Android intent can then be exploited to access the crash reporter and read log files or visit file: URLs.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Firefox for Android to version 42.0 or later on all affected devices. As a defense-in-depth measure, restrict installation of untrusted applications and monitor for suspicious app behavior.
Fix this in Firefox
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7190 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-7190 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data