CVE-2010-1228 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple race conditions in the sandbox infrastructure in Google Chrome before 4.1.249.1036 have unspecified impact and attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-1228 represents a critical security flaw within Google Chrome's sandboxing architecture that existed in versions prior to 4.1.249.1036. This issue stems from multiple race conditions inherent in the browser's sandbox infrastructure, which serves as a crucial security boundary between the browser's rendering engine and the underlying operating system. The sandbox mechanism is designed to isolate potentially malicious content and prevent unauthorized access to system resources, making any weaknesses in this protective layer particularly dangerous for users.
Race conditions in the sandbox infrastructure create exploitable scenarios where timing dependencies between concurrent processes can be manipulated by attackers to bypass security restrictions. These vulnerabilities occur when multiple threads or processes access shared resources without proper synchronization mechanisms, leading to unpredictable behavior that can be leveraged to escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code. The unspecified impact and attack vectors in the original description indicate that this flaw could potentially enable various forms of exploitation depending on the specific conditions under which the race conditions manifest. The nature of race conditions makes them particularly challenging to detect and exploit consistently, as they often depend on precise timing and system state.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential full system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. Attackers could potentially exploit these race conditions to break out of the sandbox environment and gain access to sensitive system resources, user data, or network communications. The sandbox's primary purpose is to contain malicious code within a limited execution environment, but these race conditions undermine that fundamental security principle. Such vulnerabilities are particularly concerning in the context of web browsers, which serve as gateways to potentially malicious content and are frequently targeted by threat actors seeking persistent access to user systems. The vulnerability could enable attackers to execute malicious code with elevated privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-1228 primarily focus on updating to the patched version of Google Chrome 4.1.249.1036 or later, which addresses the identified race conditions in the sandbox infrastructure. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all users are protected against this vulnerability. Additional protective measures include implementing browser hardening techniques, such as disabling unnecessary browser features, using security extensions, and maintaining up-to-date antivirus solutions. Organizations should also consider deploying network monitoring tools to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for handling potential breaches. From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-362, which addresses race conditions, and relates to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and sandbox bypass methods. Regular security assessments and penetration testing of browser environments can help identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the security infrastructure.