Container tabs persisting after removing add-on and deleting containers.json file
Categories
(Core :: Security, defect, P3)
Tracking
()
People
(Reporter: rxw45, Unassigned, NeedInfo)
References
(Blocks 1 open bug)
Details
Attachments
(4 files)
Screenshot from 2025-09-06 20-46-22.png
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:142.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/142.0
Steps to reproduce:
Installed add-on 'Firefox Multi-Account Containers' (Ubuntu 24.04 lts)
Put various websites in different containers 'Personal' 'Shopping' 'Work' 'Banking'.
Removed extension and containers.json file.
Navigated to websites previously put in containers. Example 1: https://reddit.com
Actual results:
Noticed that all websites previously put in containers are still opening in said containers despite the add-on/extension having been removed and associated .json file deleted, and this behaviour persists after sudo snap refresh firefox and restarting browser
Expected results:
The sites previously put in containers, such as reddit.com, should not be opening in containers for an extension that has been fully removed from Firefox, in this case, Firefox Multi-Account Containers.
please note the screenshots are of firefox on desktop (linux), the last sreenshot showing the container persisting as well as misbehaviour on android (extension appearing in installed add-ons while being available to download simultaneously).
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Comment 6•1 month ago
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(In reply to David from comment #0)
Steps to reproduce:
Installed add-on 'Firefox Multi-Account Containers' (Ubuntu 24.04 lts)
Put various websites in different containers 'Personal' 'Shopping' 'Work' 'Banking'.
Removed extension and containers.json file.
Navigated to websites previously put in containers. Example 1: https://reddit.com
Actual results:
Noticed that all websites previously put in containers are still opening in said containers despite the add-on/extension having been removed and associated .json file deleted, and this behaviour persists after sudo snap refresh firefox and restarting browser
Expected results:
The sites previously put in containers, such as reddit.com, should not be opening in containers for an extension that has been fully removed from Firefox, in this case, Firefox Multi-Account Containers.
Containers are a native feature, and the first four are predefined. The container assigned to an open tab is stored in the session history file as the userContextId property, so that will be restored along with your previous session windows and tabs. Without the relevant containers.json file, Firefox may discard the assignment for containers the user previously created, but it can retain the first four.
If you are on a page that is in a container, and open a link to another page on the same site in a new tab, the link will be opened in the same container. However, if you navigate to the site in a new tab through a bookmark, the address bar, a search results page, etc., the native feature does not place the new tab in the container used by the existing tab. (You need the extension for that.)
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Comment 7•1 month ago
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Moving to Core::Security - perhaps someone on that team can help this user as its unclear what the expected behavior is here.
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Comment 8•1 month ago
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Danny, can you help?
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Comment 9•1 month ago
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I know we made a change in bug 1549204 to prevent data lost when the user removes all extensions using the container API. Now, you need to manually disable the builtin feature from the Settings to trigger data deletion. However, it doesn't explain why the tabs are still opening in the assigned container if the extension has been disabled or removed. In any case, deleting the date should reset the container state and hopefully fix it.
To do so, David can you try to disable (untick) "Enable Container Tabs" in Settings > General > Tabs if it isn't already disabled.
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Comment 10•11 days ago
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Redirect a needinfo that is pending on an inactive user to the triage owner.
:dveditz, since the bug has recent activity, could you have a look please?
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