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CVE Record

CVE-2018-18505: An earlier fix for an Inter-process Communication (IPC) vulnerability, CVE-2011-3079, added authentication...

An earlier fix for an Inter-process Communication (IPC) vulnerability, CVE-2011-3079, added authentication to communication between IPC endpoints and server parents during IPC process creation. This authentication is insufficient for channels created after the IPC process is started, leading to the authentication not being correctly applied to later channels. This could allow for a sandbox escape through IPC channels due to lack of message validation in the listener process. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 60.5, Firefox ESR < 60.5, and Firefox < 65.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw weakened Mozilla’s browser and email-client sandbox. A malicious path inside Firefox or Thunderbird could use improperly authenticated IPC channels to escape expected process boundaries. Business urgency depends on whether legacy Mozilla versions remain installed.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation if any affected versions remain in production, especially on endpoints used for browsing or email. For modern patched environments, urgency is mainly legacy cleanup and asset assurance.

Technical view

CVE-2018-18505 is an IPC authentication and message-validation weakness. Authentication added for IPC process creation did not correctly cover channels created after startup, allowing a sandbox escape through later IPC channels in affected Mozilla products.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Firefox before 65, Firefox ESR before 60.5, Thunderbird before 60.5, and downstream Linux packages that had not yet applied vendor updates.

Exploitation context

The bundle describes sandbox escape impact but provides no CVSS score and no evidence of active exploitation. CISA KEV status is false, so do not assume known exploitation from these sources.

Researcher notes

The key exposure condition is version-based. The public bundle gives the root cause and affected thresholds but not exploit prerequisites, PoC status, or compensating controls beyond vendor updates.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Firefox to 65 or later where applicable.
  • Upgrade Firefox ESR to 60.5 or later where applicable.
  • Upgrade Thunderbird to 60.5 or later where applicable.
  • Apply relevant Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, or openSUSE security updates.
  • Check Mozilla and OS vendor guidance for supported replacement versions.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory installed Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird versions.
  • Confirm managed endpoints are not running affected pre-fixed versions.
  • Check Linux package versions against applicable vendor advisories.
  • Verify legacy or portable browser installs are included in scans.
  • Document exceptions for unsupported systems requiring replacement.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2018-18505 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
17Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
MozillaThunderbirdunspecifiedListed
MozillaFirefox ESRunspecifiedListed
MozillaFirefoxunspecifiedListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.