CVE-2010-4198 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
WebKit, as used in Google Chrome before 7.0.517.44, webkitgtk before 1.2.6, and other products, does not properly handle large text areas, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted HTML document.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4198 represents a critical memory corruption issue within WebKit rendering engines that affected major browser implementations including Google Chrome versions prior to 7.0.517.44 and webkitgtk versions before 1.2.6. This flaw resides in the way WebKit processes large text areas within HTML documents, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit memory handling mechanisms. The vulnerability falls under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and specifically relates to improper handling of memory allocation for text rendering operations. The issue demonstrates how seemingly benign HTML elements can be weaponized to cause system instability through memory corruption.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when WebKit encounters HTML documents containing excessively large text areas that exceed normal processing limits. The rendering engine fails to properly validate or constrain the memory allocation required for handling these oversized text elements, leading to memory corruption that can manifest as application crashes, system instability, or potentially more severe consequences. This type of memory corruption vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation of memory corruption flaws for arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The flaw specifically impacts the text rendering subsystem of WebKit, where the parser and renderer components do not adequately sanitize input parameters related to text area dimensions and content size.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-4198 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the memory corruption could potentially be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks depending on the execution environment and system configuration. Remote attackers could craft malicious HTML documents that, when rendered by vulnerable browsers, trigger memory corruption leading to unpredictable behavior including application crashes, browser instability, or in some cases, potential privilege escalation. The vulnerability affects a wide range of products that utilize WebKit as their rendering engine, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where multiple applications and services depend on consistent browser behavior. Organizations using affected versions of Chrome, webkitgtk, or other WebKit-based products face significant risk of service disruption and potential security compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4198 primarily focus on immediate version updates to patched releases of affected software components. System administrators should prioritize updating Google Chrome to version 7.0.517.44 or later, webkitgtk to version 1.2.6 or higher, and any other affected WebKit-based applications. Additionally, implementing content filtering measures that restrict or sanitize HTML content can provide temporary protection while updates are deployed. Network-level defenses should include web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious HTML content patterns associated with this vulnerability. Security monitoring should focus on identifying unusual browser behavior or memory allocation patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of regular security patch management and proper input validation in rendering engines, as outlined in security frameworks such as the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines for memory safety in web applications.