QID 980274

QID 980274: Python (pip) Security Update for qutebrowser (GHSA-vw27-fwjf-5qxm)

Security update has been released for qutebrowser to fix the vulnerability.

Note: The preceding description block is extracted directly from the security advisory. Using automation, we have attempted to clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.

Starting with qutebrowser v1.7.0, the Windows installer for qutebrowser registers it as a handler for certain URL schemes. With some applications such as Outlook Desktop, opening a specially crafted URL can lead to argument injection, allowing 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. It does *not* have to be set as default browser for the exploit to work.

  • CVSS V3 rated as Critical - 8.8 severity.
  • CVSS V2 rated as High - 6.8 severity.
    • Solution
    The issue has been fixed in [qutebrowser v2.4.0](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/releases/tag/v2.4.0) in commit 8f46ba3f6dc7b18375f7aa63c48a1fe461190430.

    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.

    Backported patches for older versions are available, but no further releases are planned:

    - v1.7.x: d1ceaab
    - v1.8.x: ca7155d
    - v1.9.x: 157d871
    - v1.10.x: 94a6125
    - v1.11.x: 10acfbb
    - v1.12.x: 363a18f
    - v1.13.x: 410f262
    - v1.14.x: e4f4d93
    - v2.0.x: 15a1654
    - v2.1.x: 509ddf2
    - v2.2.x: 03dcba5
    - v2.3.x: 00a694c

    (commits are referring to qutebrowser/qutebrowser on GitHub)Workaround:
    Remove qutebrowser from the default browser settings entirely, so that it does not handle any kind of URLs. Make sure to remove *all* handlers, including an (accidental) `qutebrowserURL` handler, e.g. using [NirSoft URLProtocolView](https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/url_protocol_view.html).
    Vendor References

    CVEs related to QID 980274

    CVE-2021-41146 |
    Software Advisories
    Advisory ID Software Component Link
    GHSA-vw27-fwjf-5qxm qutebrowser URL Logo github.com/advisories/GHSA-vw27-fwjf-5qxm
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