Command execution via PowerShell backtick misescaping
Published Dec 22, 2022 · Updated Apr 16, 2025
Command injection in Firefox before 96, Firefox ESR before 91.5, and Thunderbird before 91.5 allows remote attackers to execute commands. The DevTools curl.js escaping logic prepends a PowerShell backtick but fails when website-controlled data supplies another backtick before a dollar sign, leaving command substitution active. Exploitation requires a user to copy the crafted request as cURL and run it in PowerShell; the injected command then executes with that user's rights, and only Windows is affected.
Summary
What happened
Command injection in Firefox before 96, Firefox ESR before 91.5, and Thunderbird before 91.5 allows remote attackers to execute commands. The DevTools curl.js escaping logic prepends a PowerShell backtick but fails when website-controlled data supplies another backtick before a dollar sign, leaving command substitution active. Exploitation requires a user to copy the crafted request as cURL and run it in PowerShell; the injected command then executes with that user's rights, and only Windows is affected.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-22744
- Published
- Dec 22, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 16, 2025
- Vendor
- Mozilla
- Product
- Firefox
- Classifications
- CWE-116, T1204, T1059.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 22, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 16, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <96
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Bugzilla POC.html command-injection demonstrationproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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