Description
A logic error in Epiphany's site permission handling can cause camera and microphone access to be granted when the user only approves a different permission.
In src/ephy-window.c, set_permission() stores the user's Allow/Deny choice after a WebKit permission dialog. Types CLIPBOARD and WEBSITE_DATA_ACCESS are not stored by ephy_permission_is_stored_by_permissions_manager(), so control fell into an else-if that was written as:
} else if (EPHY_PERMISSION_TYPE_ACCESS_WEBCAM_AND_MICROPHONE) {
Because that expression is a non-zero enum constant, the branch always ran for those types and wrote EPHY_PERMISSION_PERMIT for both ACCESS_WEBCAM and ACCESS_MICROPHONE for the site origin. The user only saw a Clipboard or Website Data Access dialog.
A malicious site that obtains approval for clipboard or third-party storage access can afterwards use getUserMedia without a further camera/microphone prompt, exposing audiovisual confidentiality.
Requirements: the victim must visit a malicious page and click Allow on a clipboard or website-data-access prompt.
Affected: Epiphany >= 45.0 (bug present at least through 51.x).
Fixed: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/epiphany/-/merge_requests/2249 (commit 480c3648).
Upstream: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/epiphany/-/work_items/2976
Reporter acknowledgment: Fernando Munoz
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| GNOME | Epiphany | 45.0 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | epiphany-browser | 51.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | epiphany-browser | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | epiphany | 51.2-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12379-1 |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12379-1 epiphany-51.2-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Nov 2, 2026