CVE-2011-0476 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 8.0.552.237 and Chrome OS before 8.0.552.344 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a PDF document that triggers an out-of-memory error.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/12/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-0476 represents a critical security flaw affecting Google Chrome browser versions prior to 8.0.552.237 and Chrome OS versions before 8.0.552.344. This issue manifests through malicious PDF documents that can trigger out-of-memory conditions within the browser's rendering engine, potentially leading to stack memory corruption and denial of service attacks. The vulnerability specifically impacts the handling of PDF content within the Chrome browser's PDF viewer component, which is integrated into the browser's core functionality to display PDF documents without requiring external plugins.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate memory management and input validation within Chrome's PDF rendering subsystem. When processing specially crafted PDF files, the browser fails to properly handle memory allocation requests, leading to stack corruption that can cause the application to crash or behave unpredictably. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-122 category of "Heap-based Buffer Overflow" and potentially CWE-787 "Out-of-bounds Write" as the memory corruption occurs during PDF processing operations. The vulnerability's exploitation requires remote code execution through malicious PDF content, making it particularly dangerous in web browsing environments where users frequently encounter PDF documents from untrusted sources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the stack memory corruption could potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the specific memory layout and execution context. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to cause browser crashes, which might be used as part of larger attack chains or to facilitate further exploitation attempts. The vulnerability affects both desktop and mobile Chrome environments, making it a widespread concern across Google's browser ecosystem. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 "Exploitation for Client Execution" and could be classified under T1059 "Command and Scripting Interpreter" when used as part of multi-stage attack vectors.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate software updates to the patched versions of Chrome and Chrome OS where the memory handling issues have been resolved. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management policies to ensure all Chrome installations are updated promptly. Additional defensive measures include deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious PDF content, implementing browser security policies that restrict PDF handling capabilities, and utilizing sandboxing mechanisms to contain potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider monitoring for unusual memory consumption patterns or browser crashes that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in browser components and highlights the need for robust input validation when processing complex document formats like PDFs.