[tbb-bugs] #13542 [Tor Browser]: torbrowser logs lots of data to ~/.xsession-errors

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#13542: torbrowser logs lots of data to ~/.xsession-errors
-------------------------------+--------------------------
 Reporter:  ioerror            |          Owner:  tbb-team
     Type:  defect             |         Status:  new
 Priority:  major              |      Milestone:
Component:  Tor Browser        |        Version:
 Keywords:  security, privacy  |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                     |         Points:
-------------------------------+--------------------------
 I've noticed that TBB (on Tails, perhaps elsewhere) when loading some
 pages will log an excessive amount of data to ~/.xsession-errors

 Sample:
 {{{
 [10-22 17:15:37] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Parent null for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/newticket
 [10-22 17:15:37] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Set cacheDomain to
 trac.torproject.org for https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/newticket
 [10-22 17:15:39] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Parent trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/draft.png
 [10-22 17:15:39] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Set cacheDomain to
 trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/draft.png
 [10-22 17:16:17] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Parent trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/topbar_gradient2.png
 [10-22 17:16:17] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Set cacheDomain to
 trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/topbar_gradient2.png
 [10-22 17:16:22] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Parent null for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/newticket
 [10-22 17:16:22] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Set cacheDomain to
 trac.torproject.org for https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/newticket
 [10-22 17:16:22] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Parent trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/loading.gif
 [10-22 17:16:22] Torbutton INFO: SSC: Set cacheDomain to
 trac.torproject.org for
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/chrome/common/loading.gif
 }}}

 This looks like a seriously bad bug:
 {{{
 amnesia at amnesia:~$ wc -l .xsession-errors
 140733 .xsession-errors
 }}}

 On a system not running Tails, I can imagine that this is a privacy
 disaster. It may just be my Tails system with TBB (31.2.0 (Tor Browser
 4.0)) and it may be confined to Tails and Tails alone.

 While writing thus bug report the number of lines went up:
 {{{
 amnesia at amnesia:~$ wc -l .xsession-errors
 140749 .xsession-errors
 }}}

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/13542>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online