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Critical Tor Flaw Leaks Users’ Real IP Address

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday November 07 2017, @06:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the tor-springs-a-leak dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

TorMoil, as the flaw has been dubbed by its discoverer, is triggered when users click on links that begin with file:// rather than the more common https:// and http:// address prefixes. When the Tor browser for macOS and Linux is in the process of opening such an address, "the operating system may directly connect to the remote host, bypassing Tor Browser," according to a brief blog post published Tuesday by We Are Segment, the security firm that privately reported the bug to Tor developers.

On Friday, members of the Tor Project issued a temporary work-around that plugs that IP leak. Until the final fix is in place, updated versions of the browser may not behave properly when navigating to file:// addresses. They said both the Windows versions of Tor, Tails, and the sandboxed Tor browser that's in alpha testing aren't vulnerable.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/critical-tor-flaw-leaks-users-real-ip-address-update-now/

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  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday November 07 2017, @11:15PM (3 children)

    by edIII (791) on Tuesday November 07 2017, @11:15PM (#593873)

    Actually, yes. Yes, I do. I'm always looking at the URL and my trust factor in URLs I can't recognize, or go to Akimai or the cloud, is fucking zero. Since I'm most likely surfing with Tails anyways, I might click it for the hell of it. Most of the time though, if I don't recognize your URL, I just don't visit it.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 08 2017, @03:44AM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 08 2017, @03:44AM (#593946) Journal

    Always?

    I have a habit of hovering over links. But, I don't *always* do so. I'm really engrossed in some search or puzzle, and my mind is entirely occupied with what I am doing. Especially if I'm on a "trusted" site. I stop doing the hovers, I stop "copy this link address" and pasting it into a new tab, then LOOKING before pressing "enter".

    It's one thing to stay secure while leisurely browsing. It's another thing when trying to rush, or wading through something complicated.

    Maybe that's what separates the pros from the amateurs?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 08 2017, @04:55AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 08 2017, @04:55AM (#593963)

      Maybe that's what separates the pros from the amateurs?

      And which do you imagine you are, Runaway?

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 08 2017, @02:48PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 08 2017, @02:48PM (#594059) Journal

        The answer seems pretty obvious - sometimes I forget. What did YOU think?