816289 - Create about:config pref for allowing non-AMO addon installs

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox for Android Graveyard :: Add-on Manager, defect)

Description

[David Chan [:dchan]]

It was brought up during a security review of exposing JNI js-ctypes that a preference should be created to prevent non-AMO addons from being installed. The preference should be similar to the Android "Unknown Sources" setting.

enabled - allow non-AMO addon installs
disabled (default) - only allow addons to be installed from AMO


The goal is to mitigated some of the risk resulting from exposing JNI to js.

Comment 1

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

I assume we would be adding the preference to the platform (all apps) not just Firefox on Android.

Comment 2

[Blair McBride [:Unfocused] (UNAVAILABLE)]

If I understand correctly, the existing xpinstall whitelist functionality already handles this. Is what you're wanting a preference to toggle showing UI to allow adding a site to the whitelist?

Comment 3

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

The whitelist still allows users to install add-ons pretty easily, I think we're talking about a complete block here, so no doorhanger the user can agree too. Not sure if this includes sideloaded installs like things dropped into the filesystem or not.

Comment 4

[:Margaret Leibovic]

Mossop, does the add-on signing work for Firefox 41 address this issue? Could we close this bug?

Comment 5

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

(In reply to :Margaret Leibovic from comment #4)
> Mossop, does the add-on signing work for Firefox 41 address this issue?
> Could we close this bug?

If the automated validator flags potentially unsafe uses of JNI so that a reviewer has to look before an add-on can be signed then I would think this is covered.

Comment 6

[Kris Maglione [:kmag]]

The validator currently flags any reference to the `ctypes` object, so if that's how JNI is accessed, it should already be covered.

Comment 7

[:Margaret Leibovic]

I just landed bug 1244329, I'm going to close this bug.