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Malwarebytes Browser Guard

Version 3.1.2 View in Chrome Web Store

Last scanned: about 7 hours ago

Extension Details

Developer: Malwarebytes

Rating: 3.8 ★ (1.4K ratings)

Users: 11,000,000

Context-Aware Verdict

MEDIUM

Overall Risk

Trust Factors:

Malwarebytes is a well-established and reputable cybersecurity company with over 20 years in the industry. The extension has 11 million users, indicating widespread adoption and trust. However, the 3.8-star rating with 1,400 reviews suggests some user dissatisfaction, which is concerning for a security product from a major vendor.

Concerns:

While the extensive permissions appear alarming at first glance, they are largely justified for a comprehensive security extension. The downloads permission allows monitoring of potentially malicious files, webRequest enables real-time threat blocking, and broad host permissions are necessary for protecting users across all websites. The tabs permission facilitates security scanning of web pages. However, the combination of these powerful permissions creates significant potential for misuse if the extension were compromised.

Recommendations:

Given Malwarebytes' reputation and the extension's security purpose, the risk is mitigated despite the extensive permissions. The lower-than-expected rating warrants investigation - check recent reviews for performance issues or false positives. Consider this extension acceptable for most users due to the legitimate security benefits, but monitor for any unusual behavior. Users with extremely sensitive browsing habits might consider running it in a separate profile as an additional precaution, though this may reduce its protective effectiveness.

Findings

HIGH

Broad Host Permissions

This extension has broad host permissions allowing it to access many or all websites. This could potentially be used to steal sensitive data or track browsing activity.

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: downloads

This extension has the downloads permission. Can download files and access download history. This could potentially be used maliciously to compromise security or privacy.

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: tabs

This extension has the tabs permission. Can access browser tab information and manipulate tabs. This could potentially be used maliciously to compromise security or privacy.

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: webRequest

This extension has the webRequest permission. Can intercept and modify web requests. This could potentially be used maliciously to compromise security or privacy.

MEDIUM

Medium-Risk Permission: activeTab

This extension has the activeTab permission. Can access the active tab when clicking the extension icon.

MEDIUM

Medium-Risk Permission: contextMenus

This extension has the contextMenus permission. Can add items to the context menu.

MEDIUM

Medium-Risk Permission: storage

This extension has the storage permission. Can store data locally.

MEDIUM

Medium-Risk Permission: unlimitedStorage

This extension has the unlimitedStorage permission. Can store unlimited data locally.

Security Analysis Details

Required Permissions:

alarms
downloads
storage
tabs
declarativeNetRequest
declarativeNetRequestFeedback
unlimitedStorage
webRequest
contextMenus
nativeMessaging
offscreen
activeTab
scripting

Optional Permissions:

clipboardRead
clipboardWrite

Host Permissions:

<all_urls>

Content Security Policy:

extension_pages: default-src 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none'; script-src 'self'; frame-ancestors 'none'; frame-src 'none'; worker-src 'self'; img-src 'self' data:; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; font-src 'self'; connect-src 'self' *;

Embedded URLs (386 total):

http://www.example.com	https://708a324f1a7ec87a2658346fb4bb7586@o438337.ingest.sentry.io/4506062147551232
https://react.dev/errors/	http://www.w3.org/2000/svg
http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML	http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink
http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace	https://drafts.csswg.org/css-values-3/#urls
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php	https://tailwindcss.com
https://github.com/mozdevs/cssremedy/issues/4	https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=190655
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=999088	https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=201297
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=935729	https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=195016
https://github.com/mozdevs/cssremedy/issues/14	https://github.com/jensimmons/cssremedy/issues/14#issuecomment-634934210
https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/3300	https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/17194
https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/18499	https://github.com/mozilla/gecko-dev/blob/2f9eacd9d3d995c937b4251a5557d95d494c9be1/layout/style/res/forms.css#L728-L737
https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/form-control-infrastructure.html#plain-text-form-data	https://reactrouter.com/en/main/routers/picking-a-router.
https://reactrouter.com/start/framework/route-module#hydratefallback	https://remix.run/route/meta
https://reactrouter.com/how-to/error-boundary	https://github.com/ungap/url-search-params.
https://example.com	https://github.com/dominictarr/hashlru/blob/v1.0.4/index.js
https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/blob/v3.2.2/src/util/splitAtTopLevelOnly.js	https://github.com/lukeed/clsx
https://github.com/lukeed/clsx/blob/v1.2.1/src/index.js	https://github.com/lukeed/clsx/blob/v1.2.1/clsx.d.ts
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/aspect-ratio	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/container
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/columns	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/break-after
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/break-before	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/break-inside
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/box-decoration-break	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/box-sizing
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/display	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/float
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/clear	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/isolation
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/object-fit	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/object-position
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/overflow	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/overscroll-behavior
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/position	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/top-right-bottom-left
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/visibility	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/z-index
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex-basis	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex-direction
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex-wrap	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex-grow	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/flex-shrink
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/order	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-template-columns
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-column	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-template-rows
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-row	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-auto-flow
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-auto-columns	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/grid-auto-rows
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/gap	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/justify-content
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/justify-items	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/justify-self
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/align-content	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/align-items
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/align-self	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/place-content
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/place-items	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/place-self
https://tailwindcss.com/docs/padding	https://tailwindcss.com/docs/margin

Page 1 of 5

Raw Manifest

{
  "name": "Malwarebytes Browser Guard",
  "icons": {
    "16": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-16x16.png",
    "32": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-32x32.png",
    "48": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-48x48.png",
    "64": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-64x64.png",
    "96": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-96x96.png",
    "200": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-200x200.png",
    "256": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-256x256.png",
    "512": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-512x512.png"
  },
  "action": {
    "default_icon": {
      "16": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-16x16.png",
      "32": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-32x32.png",
      "48": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-48x48.png",
      "64": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-64x64.png",
      "96": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-96x96.png",
      "200": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-200x200.png",
      "256": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-256x256.png",
      "512": "app/assets/bg-icon/bg-favicon-512x512.png"
    },
    "default_popup": "app/popup/index.html",
    "default_title": "Malwarebytes"
  },
  "author": "Malwarebytes",
  "version": "3.1.2",
  "incognito": "split",
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js"
  },
  "update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx",
  "description": "__MSG_appDesc__",
  "permissions": [
    "alarms",
    "downloads",
    "storage",
    "tabs",
    "declarativeNetRequest",
    "declarativeNetRequestFeedback",
    "unlimitedStorage",
    "webRequest",
    "contextMenus",
    "nativeMessaging",
    "offscreen",
    "activeTab",
    "scripting"
  ],
  "default_locale": "en",
  "content_scripts": [
    {
      "js": [
        "content-debugging.js"
      ],
      "run_at": "document_start",
      "matches": [
        "https://browserguard.local/*"
      ]
    },
    {
      "js": [
        "content-scripts.js"
      ],
      "run_at": "document_start",
      "matches": [
        "http://*/*",
        "https://*/*"
      ],
      "all_frames": true,
      "match_about_blank": true
    },
    {
      "js": [
        "content-oap-notification.js"
      ],
      "run_at": "document_idle",
      "matches": [
        "https://myaccount.google.com/*"
      ]
    },
    {
      "js": [
        "content-linkedin.js"
      ],
      "run_at": "document_idle",
      "matches": [
        "https://www.linkedin.com/*"
      ]
    },
    {
      "js": [
        "injection-tss-mv3.js"
      ],
      "world": "MAIN",
      "run_at": "document_start",
      "matches": [
        "http://*/*",
        "https://*/*"
      ],
      "all_frames": true,
      "match_about_blank": true
    }
  ],
  "host_permissions": [
    "<all_urls>"
  ],
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "optional_permissions": [
    "clipboardRead",
    "clipboardWrite"
  ],
  "externally_connectable": {
    "matches": [
      "*://*.malwarebytes.com/*"
    ]
  },
  "content_security_policy": {
    "extension_pages": "default-src 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none'; script-src 'self'; frame-ancestors 'none'; frame-src 'none'; worker-src 'self'; img-src 'self' data:; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; font-src 'self'; connect-src 'self' *;"
  },
  "declarative_net_request": {
    "rule_resources": [
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.whitelist_1",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.whitelist_1.json",
        "enabled": true
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.ads_1",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.ads_1.json",
        "enabled": false
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.ads_2",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.ads_2.json",
        "enabled": false
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.malware_1",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.malware_1.json",
        "enabled": false
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.easylist_1",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.easylist_1.json",
        "enabled": false
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.easyprivacy_1",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.easyprivacy_1.json",
        "enabled": false
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.arw",
        "path": "db/mbgc.arw.json",
        "enabled": true
      },
      {
        "id": "mbgc.mv3.always_allow_DNR",
        "path": "db/mbgc.mv3.always_allow_DNR.json",
        "enabled": true
      }
    ]
  },
  "web_accessible_resources": [
    {
      "matches": [
        "<all_urls>"
      ],
      "resources": [
        "*.eot",
        "*.ttf",
        "*.woff",
        "*.woff2",
        "app/popup/assets/icons/*"
      ]
    },
    {
      "matches": [
        "<all_urls>"
      ],
      "resources": [
        "app/assets/close-icon.svg",
        "app/assets/tooltip.svg",
        "app/eventpages/debugger.html",
        "app/eventpages/downloading.html",
        "app/eventpages/block-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/breach-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/block-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/block-notification-dark.css",
        "app/eventpages/breach-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/breach-notification-dark.css",
        "app/eventpages/monthly-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/monthly-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/monthly-notification-dark.css",
        "app/assets/check-icon.svg",
        "app/assets/check-icon-dark.svg",
        "app/eventpages/release-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/release-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/release-notification-dark.css",
        "app/eventpages/clipboard-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/clipboard-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/clipboard-notification-dark.css",
        "app/eventpages/search-hijacking-notification.html",
        "app/eventpages/search-hijacking-notification.css",
        "app/eventpages/search-hijacking-notification-dark.css",
        "app/eventpages/ruleset-error.html",
        "injection-instart.js",
        "injection-tss-mv3.js",
        "injection-tss-notification.js",
        "injection-topics.js",
        "injection-tss-skimmer.js",
        "offscreen/offscreen.html",
        "vendor/*",
        "app/content-style.css",
        "app/popup/index.html",
        "app/popup/popup.css"
      ],
      "use_dynamic_url": false
    }
  ]
}

by ✦ Astarte

Malwarebytes Browser Guard

Extension Details

Context-Aware Verdict

Findings

Security Analysis Details

Required Permissions:

Optional Permissions:

Host Permissions:

Content Security Policy:

Embedded URLs (386 total):

Raw Manifest

Detections

Manifest Findings