CVE-2025-47241 Overview
CVE-2025-47241 is an Input Validation Error vulnerability affecting Browser Use (browser-use), an open-source browser automation library. The vulnerability stems from improper URL parsing of the allowed_domains configuration, where the userinfo component within the URL authority can be manipulated to bypass domain restrictions. This flaw allows attackers to potentially navigate the automated browser to unauthorized domains by crafting URLs with malicious userinfo data.
Critical Impact
Attackers can bypass domain allowlist restrictions by exploiting URL parsing weaknesses in the authority component, potentially allowing the automated browser to access malicious or unintended domains.
Affected Products
- Browser Use (browser-use) versions prior to 0.1.45
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-03 - CVE-2025-47241 published to NVD
- 2025-05-05 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-47241
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-647 (Use of Non-Canonical URL Paths for Authorization Decisions). The Browser Use library provides an allowed_domains configuration option that restricts which domains the automated browser can navigate to. However, the URL parsing logic fails to properly handle the userinfo component of the URL authority section.
In URL syntax, the authority component follows the format userinfo@host:port. When a URL contains userinfo (the part before the @ symbol), the vulnerable parser incorrectly interprets portions of the URL, allowing attackers to craft URLs where an allowed domain appears in the userinfo section while the actual destination host is a different, potentially malicious domain.
The network-based attack vector requires high complexity to exploit, as the attacker must craft specific URL patterns and have the ability to influence URLs processed by the Browser Use automation. While no privileges are required and no user interaction is necessary, the scope is changed as the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper URL parsing that fails to correctly extract and validate the host component when userinfo is present in the authority section. Standard URL parsing libraries handle this correctly by stripping userinfo before host extraction, but the vulnerable implementation does not follow canonical URL handling practices.
Attack Vector
The attack exploits the network-accessible nature of Browser Use automation. An attacker can influence the URLs processed by the browser automation tool, crafting URLs in the format https://allowed-domain.com@malicious-domain.com/path. When the vulnerable parser checks against allowed_domains, it may incorrectly validate the URL by matching against allowed-domain.com in the userinfo portion, while the actual navigation target is malicious-domain.com.
The vulnerability mechanism involves URL authority component parsing. When processing a URL like https://user:pass@example.com/, the authority section is user:pass@example.com. In this vulnerability, an attacker crafts a URL where the allowed domain appears before the @ symbol, causing the domain validation to pass while redirecting to an attacker-controlled host. For detailed technical information, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-x39x-9qw5-ghrf.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47241
Indicators of Compromise
- URLs containing @ symbols in the authority component being processed by Browser Use automation
- Unexpected outbound connections from Browser Use processes to domains not in the allowlist
- Log entries showing navigation to domains that differ from those appearing in URL prefixes
Detection Strategies
- Monitor Browser Use application logs for URLs containing userinfo components (presence of @ before the host)
- Implement network-level monitoring to detect outbound connections to domains not matching configured allowed_domains
- Review automation workflows for any URL inputs that could be attacker-controlled
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging in Browser Use to capture all URL navigation events
- Deploy network security monitoring to correlate allowed domain configurations with actual outbound traffic
- Audit URL sources in Browser Use automation scripts to identify potential injection points
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47241
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Browser Use to version 0.1.45 or later immediately
- Review automation configurations for proper allowed_domains settings
- Audit URL sources in your Browser Use implementations to ensure URLs cannot be attacker-controlled
- Implement additional network-level domain restrictions as defense-in-depth
Patch Information
The vulnerability has been addressed in Browser Use version 0.1.45. The fix properly handles URL parsing to extract the canonical host from the authority component, ignoring userinfo data when validating against allowed_domains. Details of the patch are available in GitHub Pull Request #1561 and the release notes for v0.1.45.
Workarounds
- Implement network-level egress filtering to restrict outbound connections only to explicitly allowed domains
- Pre-validate and sanitize all URLs before passing them to Browser Use, stripping userinfo components
- Use a reverse proxy or network security appliance to enforce domain restrictions independently of Browser Use parsing
# Example: Upgrade Browser Use to patched version
pip install --upgrade browser-use>=0.1.45
# Verify installed version
pip show browser-use | grep Version
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
