CVE-2010-3252 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in the Notifications presenter in Google Chrome before 6.0.472.53 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3252 represents a critical use-after-free flaw within Google Chrome's Notifications presenter component, affecting versions prior to 6.0.472.53. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to reference memory that has already been freed, creating potential exploitation opportunities for malicious actors. The Notifications presenter is responsible for handling and displaying system notifications to users, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise browser functionality or execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability's classification as use-after-free aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses the use of freed memory, a common vector for privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution attacks. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability could map to T1059 for command execution and T1499 for denial of service operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within Chrome's notification handling system where the application fails to properly validate or invalidate pointers after memory deallocation. Attackers can potentially exploit this by crafting malicious web content or leveraging social engineering tactics to trigger the vulnerable code path. The unspecified other impacts mentioned in the description suggest that beyond simple denial of service, this vulnerability could potentially enable remote code execution or privilege escalation depending on the specific exploitation vectors. The memory corruption resulting from the use-after-free condition can be leveraged to overwrite critical program data structures or execute malicious code within the browser's memory space. This particular flaw demonstrates the complexity of modern browser security where seemingly isolated components can create cascading effects throughout the entire application architecture.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-3252 extends beyond immediate denial of service conditions to potentially compromise entire user sessions and system integrity. When exploited successfully, attackers could gain persistent access to user systems, potentially accessing sensitive data or using the compromised browser as a foothold for further network infiltration. The vulnerability's presence in a core browser component means that successful exploitation could affect a large user base and create significant security risks for organizations relying on Chrome for web browsing. Organizations would face increased risk of data breaches, malware distribution, and unauthorized access to corporate networks. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal user interaction, potentially allowing for automated attacks through compromised websites or malicious advertisements. Security teams would need to implement immediate patch management procedures and monitor for exploitation attempts while considering network-based detection measures to identify potential attacks targeting this specific memory corruption flaw. The remediation process would require immediate deployment of Chrome version 6.0.472.53 or later, along with comprehensive security assessments of affected systems to ensure complete vulnerability remediation.