Description

Privilege escalation in Firefox for Android. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 156.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-15T13:16:54.623Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-15T13:16:54.623Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves a privilege escalation flaw within the Firefox for Android browser, specifically addressed in version 156. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to perform unauthorized actions by leveraging insufficient permission controls or process boundary enforcement within the application architecture.\nThe primary impact of this flaw is the potential for an attacker to elevate their execution context from within the browser's sandbox to a higher privilege level, potentially gaining access to sensitive user data, application settings, or system-level functions depending on the Android permissions model.\nThe vulnerability affects Firefox for Android versions prior to 156. Successful exploitation requires local access to the device and the ability to trigger specific application conditions, such as malicious interactions or the exploitation of inter-process communication (IPC) pathways.\nThis represents a significant security risk as it bypasses the standard isolation mechanisms intended to protect user data from unauthorized access or malicious browser-based content. There is no evidence of remote exploitability, but the local privilege escalation capability poses a threat to user privacy and device integrity.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the privilege escalation in Firefox for Android resides in an inadequate enforcement of trust boundaries during inter-process communication or during the handling of intents and URI schemes. In the Android security model, applications are strictly sandboxed; however, if the browser fails to properly validate the origin or the legitimacy of incoming IPC requests from other applications, or improperly handles internal state transitions, an attacker can coerce the browser process into executing privileged operations.\nThe exploitation method typically involves the manipulation of the application's IPC interface. By crafting a specific set of intents, an attacker can trigger functions within the browser that were intended to be accessible only by trusted system components or internal browser modules. Because these functions may operate with higher privileges than the browser's content process, the attacker can move laterally or vertically within the application's process space.\nThe attack flow follows a structured path: First, an attacker installs a malicious application on the target device or exploits an existing vulnerability in another application that possesses legitimate inter-process communication capabilities. Second, the attacker sends a malformed intent or data packet directly to the Firefox for Android application process. Third, the browser's internal logic, failing to verify the source or the permissions associated with the request, processes the input using its privileged execution context. Fourth, the attacker successfully triggers an action—such as reading arbitrary files within the application's private data directory, modifying internal preferences, or forcing the execution of browser commands—that would otherwise be restricted.\nThe vulnerability is localized to the components responsible for handling Android-specific integration points, such as the activity lifecycle, service handlers, or intent filters. Versions prior to 156 are susceptible to this improper input validation. Authentication is generally not required in the traditional sense, as the attack leverages the implicit trust granted to IPC channels by the Android OS and the browser's failure to apply secondary validation checks at the application layer. The post-exploitation impact includes the exfiltration of sensitive browsing history, stored credentials, or session cookies, effectively undermining the security posture of the application's sandbox."
}