// For flags

CVE-2021-29956

Mozilla: Thunderbird stored OpenPGP secret keys without master password protection

Severity Score

4.3
*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

1
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

-
*SSVC
Descriptions

OpenPGP secret keys that were imported using Thunderbird version 78.8.1 up to version 78.10.1 were stored unencrypted on the user's local disk. The master password protection was inactive for those keys. Version 78.10.2 will restore the protection mechanism for newly imported keys, and will automatically protect keys that had been imported using affected Thunderbird versions. This vulnerability affects Thunderbird < 78.10.2.

Unas claves secretas OpenPGP que se importaban con la versión 78.8.1 de Thunderbird hasta la versión 78.10.1 se almacenaban sin cifrar en el disco local del usuario. La protección por contraseña maestra estaba inactiva para esas claves. La versión 78.10.2 restablecerá el mecanismo de protección para las claves recién importadas, y protegerá automáticamente las claves que habían sido importadas usando las versiones de Thunderbird afectadas. Esta vulnerabilidad afecta a Thunderbird versiones anteriores a 78.10.2

USN-4995-1 fixed vulnerabilities in Thunderbird. This update provides the corresponding updates for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Multiple security issues were discovered in Thunderbird. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted website in a browsing context, an attacker could potentially exploit these to cause a denial of service, obtain sensitive information, spoof the UI, bypass security restrictions, or execute arbitrary code. It was discovered that extensions could open popup windows with control of the window title in some circumstances. If a user were tricked into installing a specially crafted extension, an attacker could potentially exploit this to spoof a website and trick the user into providing credentials. Multiple security issues were discovered in Thunderbird's OpenPGP integration. If a user were tricked into importing a specially crafted key in some circumstances, an attacker could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service or confuse the user. A use-after-free was discovered when Responsive Design Mode was enabled. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted website with Responsive Design Mode enabled, an attacker could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, or execute arbitrary code. It was discovered that Thunderbird mishandled ftp URLs with encoded newline characters. If a user were tricked into clicking on a specially crafted link, an attacker could potentially exploit this to send arbitrary FTP commands. It was discovered that Thunderbird wrote signatures to disk and read them back during verification. A local attacker could potentially exploit this to replace the data with another signature file. It was discovered that Thunderbird might load an alternative OTR library. If a user were tricked into copying a specially crafted library to one of Thunderbird's search paths, an attacker could potentially exploit this to execute arbitrary code. It was discovered that secret keys imported into Thunderbird were stored unencrypted. A local attacker could potentially exploit this to obtain private keys. It was discovered that Thunderbird did not indicate when an inline signed or encrypted message contained additional unprotected parts. Various other issues were also addressed.

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Medium
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:-
Exploitation
-
Automatable
-
Tech. Impact
-
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2021-04-01 CVE Reserved
  • 2021-06-07 CVE Published
  • 2024-08-03 CVE Updated
  • 2024-08-03 First Exploit
  • 2025-03-30 EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
CWE
  • CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
  • CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials
CAPEC
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
Mozilla
Search vendor "Mozilla"
Thunderbird
Search vendor "Mozilla" for product "Thunderbird"
>= 78.8.1 <= 78.10.1
Search vendor "Mozilla" for product "Thunderbird" and version " >= 78.8.1 <= 78.10.1"
-
Affected