CVE-2024-10464 is a vulnerability identified in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird that allows an attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) condition by repeatedly writing to the browser's history interface attributes. This abuse leads to resource exhaustion, causing the browser to become unresponsive or crash. The flaw exists because the history interface lacked sufficient rate-limiting controls, enabling an attacker to overwhelm the browser's internal state. The vulnerability affects Firefox versions earlier than 132 and Thunderbird versions earlier than 128.4. Exploitation requires no privileges or user interaction and can be triggered remotely by visiting a maliciously crafted web page. Mozilla mitigated the issue by introducing rate-limiting mechanisms to the history API, preventing excessive writes from impacting browser stability. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5, reflecting a network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and a high impact on availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk to browser availability and user productivity. The CWE classification is CWE-125, indicating an out-of-bounds write or similar memory corruption leading to DoS. This vulnerability is particularly relevant for organizations relying on Firefox and Thunderbird for daily operations, as it can disrupt access to web resources and email communications.

For European organizations, this vulnerability can lead to significant operational disruptions. Firefox and Thunderbird are widely used across Europe for web browsing and email communication, including in government, financial, healthcare, and critical infrastructure sectors. A successful DoS attack could render browsers or email clients unresponsive, impacting employee productivity and potentially delaying critical communications. In sectors where browser availability is essential for accessing cloud services or web-based applications, this could translate into broader business continuity issues. Although the vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, the loss of availability can cause cascading effects, especially in environments with strict uptime requirements. Additionally, the ease of exploitation without authentication or user interaction increases the risk of automated or large-scale attacks targeting European networks. Organizations with remote or hybrid workforces relying on these applications are particularly vulnerable to disruption. The absence of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks.

European organizations should prioritize updating Mozilla Firefox to version 132 or later and Thunderbird to version 128.4 or later to ensure the vulnerability is patched. Network administrators should monitor browser and email client logs for unusual spikes in history API usage or resource consumption that could indicate attempted exploitation. Implementing web filtering to block access to suspicious or untrusted websites can reduce exposure to malicious pages designed to trigger this DoS. Security teams should educate users about the importance of applying updates promptly and consider deploying browser hardening configurations that limit script execution on untrusted sites. For managed environments, automated patch management systems should be used to enforce timely updates. Additionally, organizations can deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to identify abnormal application behavior consistent with resource exhaustion attacks. Regular backups and incident response plans should be reviewed to ensure rapid recovery from potential service disruptions. Finally, collaboration with Mozilla’s security advisories and threat intelligence feeds will help maintain awareness of any emerging exploit activity.