cross-posted from !google@lemdro.id
Original source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2308.16321.pdf
- Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that Chrome browser extensions can still steal passwords, despite compliance with Chrome’s latest security standard, Manifest V3.
- A proof of concept extension successfully passed the Chrome Web Store review process, demonstrating the vulnerability.
- The core issue lies in the extensions’ full access to the Document Object Model (DOM) of web pages, allowing them to interact with text input fields like passwords.
- Analysis of existing extensions showed that 12.5% had the permissions to exploit this vulnerability, identifying 190 extensions that directly access password fields.
- Researchers propose two fixes: a JavaScript library for websites to block unwanted access to password fields, and a browser-level alert system for password field interactions.
or, hear me out, use firefox instead
I use Firefox but this is kind of silly. The real advice is use very few addons. On Firefox I use only ublock.
What exactly makes Firefox more resistant against malicious extensions?
Nothing really. The way add-ons interact with web pages is very similar.
Yeah. That’s why I don’t understand how using Firefox would be solution to this. The only solution is to not use extensions.
Removes sunglasses My god! It’s so crazy it might actually work!