CVE-2021-23971Network attack vector

Referrer URL disclosure via redirect policy override

Published Feb 26, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Information disclosure in Mozilla Firefox before 86 allows remote attackers to send full referrer URLs via conflicting redirect policies. During redirect processing, Firefox adopted a redirect response's Referrer-Policy instead of preserving the policy-derived referrer from the original request, allowing the destination to receive more URL information than the origin intended. Exploitation requires a victim to navigate through an attacker-influenced redirect; the demonstrated consequence is disclosure of referrer path and query data, without evidence of data modification or service interruption.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.01%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Mozilla Firefox before 86 allows remote attackers to send full referrer URLs via conflicting redirect policies. During redirect processing, Firefox adopted a redirect response's Referrer-Policy instead of preserving the policy-derived referrer from the original request, allowing the destination to receive more URL information than the origin intended. Exploitation requires a victim to navigate through an attacker-influenced redirect; the demonstrated consequence is disclosure of referrer path and query data, without evidence of data modification or service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-23971
Published
Feb 26, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Mozilla
Product
Firefox
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 26, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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  1. Affected versionversion=< 86

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Mozilla · Firefoxversion=< 86

Published CVSS scores

6.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
4.3NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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