CVE-2020-11054: Incorrect Provision of Specified Functionality in qutebrowser
Description
After a certificate error was overridden by the user, qutebrowser displays the URL as yellow (colors.statusbar.url.warn.fg). However, when the affected website was subsequently loaded again, the URL was mistakenly displayed as green (colors.statusbar.url.successhttps). While the user already has seen a certificate error prompt at this point (or set content.sslstrict to false which is not recommended), this could still provide a false sense of security.
Affected versions and patches
All versions of qutebrowser are believed to be affected, though versions before v0.11.x couldn't be tested.
The issue is fixed in qutebrowser v1.11.1 (pending release) and v1.12.0 (unreleased). Backported patches for older versions are available, but no further releases are planned.
Mitigation
If you are unable to upgrade:
- Treat any host with a certificate exception as insecure, ignoring the URL color - Or set content.sslstrict to True (instead of 'ask'), preventing certificate exceptions
References
- qutebrowser issue: https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/issues/5403 - Fix (master branch): https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/commit/021ab572a319ca3db5907a33a59774f502b3b975 - Related issue for KDE Falkon: https://bugs.kde.org/showbug.cgi?id=420902 - Related issue for eric6 Web Browser: https://tracker.die-offenbachs.homelinux.org/eric/issue328 (fixed in eric6 20.6)
Other sources
In qutebrowser versions less than 1.11.1, reloading a page with certificate errors shows a green URL. After a certificate error was overridden by the user, qutebrowser displays the URL as yellow (colors.statusbar.url.warn.fg). However, when the affected website was subsequently loaded again, the URL was mistakenly displayed as green (colors.statusbar.url.successhttps). While the user already has seen a certificate error prompt at this point (or set content.sslstrict to false, which is not recommended), this could still provide a false sense of security. This has been fixed in 1.11.1 and 1.12.0. All versions of qutebrowser are believed to be affected, though versions before v0.11.x couldn't be tested. Backported patches for older versions (greater than or equal to 1.4.0 and less than or equal to 1.10.2) are available, but no further releases are planned.
Affected Software
Remediation
Patch Available
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2020-11054?
CVE-2020-11054 has been rated as a low severity vulnerability.
How do I fix CVE-2020-11054?
To fix CVE-2020-11054, update qutebrowser to version 1.11.1 or later.
What systems are affected by CVE-2020-11054?
CVE-2020-11054 affects qutebrowser versions prior to 1.11.1 and certain versions of Fedora.
What does CVE-2020-11054 exploit?
CVE-2020-11054 exploits a misrepresentation of the URL color after a user overrides a certificate error.
Is CVE-2020-11054 a critical vulnerability?
No, CVE-2020-11054 is not considered a critical vulnerability.