Firebase-js-sdk: Bug: auth.js throw error in Firefox Private mode

[IvanKalinin]

• Operating System version: MacOS 10.13.3
• Firebase SDK version: 4.12.1
• Firebase Product: auth
• Browser: Firefox 59.0.2
• Other information: Private mode

Firebase auth throw error on loading page in Firefox Private mode

I guess error comes from that piece

function Ti(a) {
  return new y(function (b, c) {
    var d = a.h.open("firebaseLocalStorageDb", 1);
    d.onerror = function (a) {
      c(Error(a.target.errorCode))
    };
    d.onupgradeneeded = function (a) {
      a = a.target.result;
      try {
        a.createObjectStore("firebaseLocalStorage", {
          keyPath: "fbase_key"
        })
      } catch (f) {
        c(f)
      }
    };
    d.onsuccess = function (a) {
      b(a.target.result)
    }
  })
}

[wti806]

@IvanKalinin Could you please provide the code snippet of how you use firebase Auth and the flow to trigger this error?

[kmjennison]

@wti806 I believe this bug happens anytime you initialize Firebase in Firefox private browsing mode. In case it's helpful, though, I created a small test app to reproduce it.

1. Open Firefox in Private browsing mode
2. Visit https://kmjennison.github.io/firebase-idb-debug/
3. Click "Initialize Firebase". You should see the error.

I included a modified Firebase that logs the error to console. If you repeat the above but click "Initialize modified Firebase", you should see:
InvalidStateError: A mutation operation was attempted on a database that did not allow mutations.

It's expected that IndexedDB won't work in Firefox privacy mode, so it looks like Firebase isn't properly detecting the lack of IDB support.

[eshwarenm]

Anyone know how we can catch this error to alert to users?
Any updates on this?

[bojeil-google]

The fix is ready but not yet in the repo. For now, you can downgrade to 4.11.x. We'll try to get this in asap.

[kmjennison]

A warning on downgrading to 4.11.x: it will require all users to re-authenticate, because the old storage values in localStorage are deleted when upgrading to 4.12.0. Then, if a user re-authenticates, and later logs out, their credentials will still exist in indexedDB—meaning upgrading to >4.11.x will automatically log them (or whoever's using the computer) back in. Downgrading doesn't look like a valid option.

[eshwarenm]

I need a small confirmation.
So, if Firefox continues disabling IndexedDB in Private Mode, then Firebase auth would never be able to work in FF's Private Mode? Or is there a plan where Firebase would stop using IndexedDB in auth?

This seems to be a big issue for us right now. Apologise if wrong place to ask, but highly appreciate a brief explanation on the question above. Thanks!

[bojeil-google]

We modified the code to fallback to localStorage when indexedDB is not available/accessible/functional. If localStorage is not accessible/available, we fallback to in memory storage.

[eshwarenm]

🙏 @bojeil-google
Thanks, we now have some hope.
So, these changes will reflect on the next release?

[bojeil-google]

The release should be out on Thursday I believe. You can test the changes from canary. We apologize for the delay. We had some build issues the past week which blocked this release.

[eshwarenm]

Okay, it's coming quite soon. Thanks.
One more quick question, what do you mean by testing in canary?
Is there an experimental version of Firebase we can use or Chrome's Canary?

[bojeil-google]

I meant firebase@canary on NPM

[geraldoramos]

Any update on this? Looks like auth.js is still broke on Firefox/Private:

Edit: Nevermind, I've updated to 5.0.4 and the issue is fixed...

[bojeil-google]

This has been fixed and confirmed a while back.