CVE-2026-118179: Request forgery via news: links

Published Oct 27, 2026
·
Updated

Clicking a news: or snews: link that referenced a message-ID made Thunderbird connect, without asking, to the host and port given in the link, even if it was not a configured news server. Line breaks in the message-ID were sent to the server unmodified, so a crafted link could send arbitrary commands to services reachable from the user's network. In addition, snews: links to such servers connected without TLS.

Affected Software

2 affected componentsFixes available
Mozilla Thunderbird<159
159
Mozilla Thunderbird<153.6
153.6

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 159
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 153.6
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade Thunderbird to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 159

Event History

Oct 27, 2026
CVE Published
via Mozilla·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via Mozilla·12:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
CVE Published
via MITRE·06:16 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·06:16 PM
Description

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Who is exposed to this issue?

Thunderbird users are exposed when they click a crafted news: or snews: link that names a host and port that is reachable from their network. The target does not need to be configured as a news server in Thunderbird.

2

What does an attacker need to exploit it?

An attacker needs to induce a user to click a crafted news: or snews: link containing a message-ID. Line breaks in that message-ID can be sent unmodified, allowing arbitrary commands to be sent to the reachable service.

3

Does the issue affect links to servers that are not configured in Thunderbird?

Yes. Thunderbird could connect without prompting to the host and port specified in the link even when that server was not configured as a news server.

4

What is the additional risk for snews: links?

snews: links to unconfigured servers could connect without TLS. This can expose the connection to interception or modification in addition to the command-injection behavior.

5

How can this be remediated?

Update Thunderbird to version 159, which fixes the vulnerability.

Company

Resources

Contact

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