CVE-2010-4201 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 7.0.517.44 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving text control selections.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4201 represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Google Chrome versions prior to 7.0.517.44 that fundamentally compromises the browser's memory management integrity. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to reference memory that has already been freed, creating a dangerous state where subsequent operations can trigger unpredictable behavior. The specific context involves text control selections within the browser's rendering engine, where improper memory handling during selection manipulation creates opportunities for exploitation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory management within Chrome's text selection handling mechanisms. When users interact with text controls, the browser allocates memory for selection objects and their associated data structures. However, the flaw occurs during the cleanup process where memory is freed but references to that memory remain accessible to subsequent operations. This creates a race condition or memory corruption scenario that can be exploited by remote attackers through carefully crafted web content. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-416 as use of freed memory, which directly maps to the fundamental flaw in Chrome's memory management system.
Operationally, this vulnerability presents significant risks to users and organizations as it can be leveraged for both denial of service attacks and potentially more severe exploitation outcomes. Remote attackers can craft malicious web pages that, when loaded in vulnerable Chrome versions, trigger the use-after-free condition during text selection operations. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the memory corruption can potentially lead to arbitrary code execution, making this a particularly dangerous vulnerability in the context of browser-based attacks. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that users can be compromised simply by visiting malicious websites without requiring any additional user interaction beyond normal browsing.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers can leverage the corrupted memory state to execute malicious code within the browser context. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability affects a core browser functionality that users interact with daily. The remediation process involves updating to Chrome version 7.0.517.44 or later, which includes memory management fixes that properly handle text selection cleanup operations. Additionally, implementing browser security measures such as sandboxing and content security policies can provide additional defense-in-depth layers against exploitation attempts. Security teams should also monitor for any related vulnerabilities that may emerge from similar memory management flaws in other browser components or applications.