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To be clear, is JS pragmatically a security problem though? Are there known vulnerabilities being exploited? I don't recall ever having a problem due to JS.

Sir_Cmpwn 7y ago
Virtually all browser bugs require JavaScript to exploit. Here's the first example that came up when I searched for "google chrome sandbox escape": https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2019/04/virtually-unlimited-memory-escaping.html https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2019/04/virtually-unl... Don't you think that the turing complete language with a massive API surface would be the obvious place for vulnerabilities to appear?
- CrowFly 7y ago
  This seems very off-topic for the subject at hand.
- sonnyblarney 7y ago
  I'm not doubting that JS creates a greater attack surface. I'm doubting the realism of the treat. There are billions of people using browsers with JS enabled and I don't see serious concerns / problems as a result of it. Where are the examples of Chrome being compromised by arbitrary JS scripts, out in the wild, wherein people have been affected? Banks, insurance companies, security agencies - everyone is running browsers with JS enabled, so I don't see any reason to believe that it's a legitimate problem.
  - Sir_Cmpwn 7y ago
    The problem is less related to typical petty crime, but more about state actors hoarding vulnerabilities imo. State actors have already been shown exploiting JavaScript-related vulnerabilities in Tor to deanonymize pedophiles, for example.
    - sonnyblarney 7y ago
      Being de-anonymized by state actors snuffing out child predators is not a concern for most people.
- SquareWheel 7y ago
  >Virtually all browser bugs require JavaScript to exploit. I'm sure that's true. But understand that doesn't mean that Javascript is inherently unsafe. Even Specter, one of the nastiest vulnerabilities to hit in years was mitigated almost immediately by browsers.

Sir_Cmpwn 7y ago

Virtually all browser bugs require JavaScript to exploit. Here's the first example that came up when I searched for "google chrome sandbox escape": https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2019/04/virtually-unlimited-memory-escaping.html https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2019/04/virtually-unl... Don't you think that the turing complete language with a massive API surface would be the obvious place for vulnerabilities to appear?

CrowFly 7y ago
This seems very off-topic for the subject at hand.
sonnyblarney 7y ago
I'm not doubting that JS creates a greater attack surface. I'm doubting the realism of the treat. There are billions of people using browsers with JS enabled and I don't see serious concerns / problems as a result of it. Where are the examples of Chrome being compromised by arbitrary JS scripts, out in the wild, wherein people have been affected? Banks, insurance companies, security agencies - everyone is running browsers with JS enabled, so I don't see any reason to believe that it's a legitimate problem.
- Sir_Cmpwn 7y ago
  The problem is less related to typical petty crime, but more about state actors hoarding vulnerabilities imo. State actors have already been shown exploiting JavaScript-related vulnerabilities in Tor to deanonymize pedophiles, for example.
  - sonnyblarney 7y ago
    Being de-anonymized by state actors snuffing out child predators is not a concern for most people.
SquareWheel 7y ago
>Virtually all browser bugs require JavaScript to exploit. I'm sure that's true. But understand that doesn't mean that Javascript is inherently unsafe. Even Specter, one of the nastiest vulnerabilities to hit in years was mitigated almost immediately by browsers.