CVE-2020-15174: Unpreventable top-level navigation in Electron

Q: What is CVE-2020-15174?

CVE-2020-15174 is a vulnerability in Electron versions 8.0.0 to 8.5.1, 9.0.0 to 9.3.0, and 10.0.0 to 10.0.1 that allows bypassing of the 'will-navigate' event.

Q: How can the 'will-navigate' event be bypassed?

The 'will-navigate' event can be bypassed when a sub-frame performs a top-frame navigation across sites.

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-15174?

CVE-2020-15174 has a severity rating of 7.5 (high).

Q: Which versions of Electron are affected by CVE-2020-15174?

Electron versions 8.0.0 to 8.5.1, 9.0.0 to 9.3.0, and 10.0.0 to 10.0.1 are affected by CVE-2020-15174.

Q: How can I fix CVE-2020-15174?

CVE-2020-15174 is patched in version 11.0.0-beta.1 of Electron.

Published Oct 6, 2020

Updated

In Electron before versions 11.0.0-beta.1, 10.0.1, 9.3.0 or 8.5.1 the will-navigate event that apps use to prevent navigations to unexpected destinations as per our security recommendations can be bypassed when a sub-frame performs a top-frame navigation across sites. The issue is patched in versions 11.0.0-beta.1, 10.0.1, 9.3.0 or 8.5.1 As a workaround sandbox all your iframes using the sandbox attribute. This will prevent them creating top-frame navigations and is good practice anyway.

Affected Software

3 affected components

electronjs Electron>=8.0.0<8.5.1

electronjs Electron>=9.0.0<9.3.0

electronjs Electron>=10.0.0<10.0.1

Remediation

Patch Available

https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/18613925610ba319da7f497b6deed85ad712c59b

Event History

Oct 6, 2020

CVE Published

via MITRE·05:35 PM

Data Sourced

via MITRE·05:35 PM

DescriptionSeverityWeakness

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-15174?

CVE-2020-15174 is a vulnerability in Electron versions 8.0.0 to 8.5.1, 9.0.0 to 9.3.0, and 10.0.0 to 10.0.1 that allows bypassing of the 'will-navigate' event.

How can the 'will-navigate' event be bypassed?