How to List Firefox Add-ons Across All Mac, Windows, and Linux Devices

Introduction

Mozilla Firefox provides the ability to extend the core functionality of the browser via the installation of 'addons'. Addons may be published by Mozilla or by 3rd party authors, and can be distributed either through the Mozilla Firefox Addons or via manual download and installation.

A small subset of extensions are installed by default by Firefox (eg. Firefox Screenshots, Form Autofill, Google Search, Wikipedia, etc.).

Firefox addons are installed on a per-profile basis and can be enabled or disabled while remaining installed.

Firefox Addons can do, among other things: Extend the functionality of Mozilla Firefox (such as integrating with installed apps like 1Password) Customize the appearance of Mozilla Firefox through the installation of 'Theme' extensions

Kolide collects metadata about Mozilla Firefox addons such as their name, their publisher, their version, and whether they are enabled.

What Firefox Add-on Data Can Kolide Collect?

Kolide's endpoint agent bundles in osquery to efficiently collect Firefox Add-ons from Mac, Windows, and Linux devices in your fleet. Once collected, Kolide will parse, clean up, and centrally store this data in Inventory for your team to view, query, or export via API.

Kolide meticulously documents every piece of data returned so you can understand the results.

Firefox Add-ons Schema

What Can You Do With This Information?

Kolide enables you to write your own queries against the data the agent collects. This allows you to build your own reports and API endpoints. For example, you can:

WITH 
collated_extensions AS (
  SELECT
    device_id,
    browser_type AS browser,
    uid, 
    name, 
    identifier, 
    version, 
    '' AS profile
  FROM device_chrome_extensions
  UNION ALL
  SELECT
    device_id,
    'firefox' AS browser,
    uid, 
    name, 
    identifier, 
    version, 
    '' AS profile
  FROM device_firefox_addons
  UNION ALL
  SELECT
    device_id,
    'safari' AS browser,
    uid, 
    name, 
    team_identifier AS identifier, 
    version, '' AS profile
  FROM mac_safari_extensions
  )
  SELECT 
    COUNT(*) AS install_count, 
    name, 
    browser, 
    identifier, 
    version 
  FROM collated_extensions 
  WHERE name ILIKE '%1password%'
  GROUP BY identifier, name, browser, version
  ORDER BY install_count DESC
  LIMIT 10

Why Should I Collect Firefox Add-ons?

Due to the high-value of a user's browser activity, Mozilla Firefox is a frequent target of malware authors who wish to obtain secure details about an end-user (eg. sites they visit, credit cards they use, etc.) and its extension configuration should be regularly audited to ensure that they are not at risk of attack.

Firefox addon installations are cataloged and tracked to facilitate a number of potential purposes, for example:

• Reviewing installed addons to verify the desired configuration of Firefox (eg. 1Password extension is installed)
• Discovering potential malicious addons

End-User Privacy Consideration

Kolide practices Honest Security. We believe that data should be collected from end-user devices transparently and with privacy in mind.

Addons which you install could reveal suggestive details about your personal browsing habits if they are named after a specific service you utilize. For example:

• eBay Bid Sniper
• Adult Website Video Downloader
• Netflix Region Unblocker
• Firefox BitCoin Miner

When you use Kolide to list Firefox Add-on data from end-user devices, Kolide gives the people using those devices insight into exactly what data is collected, the privacy implications, and who on the IT team can see the data. This all happens in our end-user privacy center which can be accessed directly by employees.