CVE-2021-41146
Arbitrary command execution on Windows in qutebrowser
In short
qutebrowser on Windows can be tricked into running malicious commands through specially crafted links if it's set as the default handler for `qutebrowserurl:` URLs. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on your computer.
Technical detail
A URL handler registration vulnerability in qutebrowser (v1.7.0 to v2.3.x) on Windows allows unauthenticated remote code execution when a user clicks a malicious `qutebrowserurl:` link. The attack leverages unsafe parsing of URL parameters passed to qutebrowser commands (`:spawn`, `:debug-pyeval`), bypassing argument validation and enabling arbitrary command execution with user privileges.
Summary generated and translated by AI from the official description.
qutebrowser is an open source keyboard-focused browser with a minimal GUI. Starting with qutebrowser v1.7.0, the Windows installer for qutebrowser registers a `qutebrowserurl:` URL handler. With certain applications, opening a specially crafted `qutebrowserurl:...` URL can lead to execution of qutebrowser commands, which in turn allows arbitrary code execution via commands such as `:spawn` or `:debug-pyeval`. Only Windows installs where qutebrowser is registered as URL handler are affected. The issue has been fixed in qutebrowser v2.4.0. The fix also adds additional hardening for potential similar issues on Linux (by adding the new --untrusted-args flag to the .desktop file), though no such vulnerabilities are known.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
qutebrowser · qutebrowserWant to know if your infrastructure is exposed to this?
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