CVE-2010-3253 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
The implementation of notification permissions in Google Chrome before 6.0.472.53 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3253 resides within the notification permissions implementation of Google Chrome browser versions prior to 6.0.472.53. This flaw represents a critical security issue that affects the browser's handling of permission requests for desktop notifications, potentially enabling attackers to exploit memory corruption vulnerabilities through unspecified attack vectors. The vulnerability demonstrates a weakness in Chrome's permission system that could be leveraged to disrupt normal browser operations or potentially execute arbitrary code.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of notification permission requests within Chrome's security architecture. When users encounter web pages requesting notification permissions, the browser must validate these requests and manage the associated memory structures accordingly. The flaw occurs during this validation process, where insufficient input sanitization or memory management leads to potential corruption of critical browser memory segments. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can result in memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for Chrome users who may inadvertently encounter malicious websites. Attackers can craft web pages that exploit the notification permission handling to trigger memory corruption, leading to browser crashes or potentially more severe consequences. The unspecified nature of the potential impacts suggests that this vulnerability could be leveraged for various attack vectors including remote code execution or privilege escalation, making it particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability directly relates to ATT&CK technique T1059, where adversaries may use memory corruption to execute malicious code.
The exploitation of this vulnerability typically involves crafting malicious web content that triggers the notification permission dialog in a way that causes memory corruption. This can occur through malformed permission requests, excessive permission requests, or manipulation of the permission handling code paths. The attack surface is broad as notification permissions are commonly requested by websites for various services including email notifications, social media updates, and web application alerts. Security researchers have noted that such vulnerabilities in browser permission systems are particularly concerning because they can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users are tricked into visiting malicious sites that trigger the vulnerable code path.
Organizations and individual users should prioritize updating to Chrome version 6.0.472.53 or later to remediate this vulnerability. The update process should be immediate given the potential for remote code execution and denial of service attacks. Additional mitigations include implementing browser security policies that restrict notification permissions, using security extensions that monitor permission requests, and maintaining awareness of phishing attempts that may exploit this vulnerability. Network administrators should consider implementing web filtering solutions that can block access to known malicious domains that may attempt to exploit this vulnerability. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper memory management and input validation in browser security implementations, emphasizing the need for robust security testing of permission handling code paths.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date browser software and the potential consequences of outdated security implementations. The notification permission system, while seemingly benign, represents a complex interaction point between user interface elements and core browser security mechanisms. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability underscores the need for comprehensive security testing of all browser components, particularly those handling user interactions and permission requests. Security professionals should monitor for similar vulnerabilities in other browser permission systems and ensure that proper security controls are in place to prevent exploitation of such memory corruption flaws.