CVE-2011-1116 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 9.0.597.107 does not properly handle SVG animations, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors that lead to a "stale pointer."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1116 represents a critical memory safety issue within Google Chrome browser versions prior to 9.0.597.107. This flaw specifically manifests in the browser's handling of Scalable Vector Graphics animations, which are commonly used for dynamic web content and visual elements. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management when processing SVG animation elements, creating conditions where stale pointers can persist in memory. Such pointer issues typically arise when the browser attempts to reference memory locations that have already been freed or reallocated, leading to unpredictable behavior in the application's memory management subsystem.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves Chrome's rendering engine encountering SVG animation sequences that trigger memory corruption through improper pointer dereferencing. When the browser processes certain SVG animation constructs, it fails to properly validate or update pointer references to memory regions containing animation data. This creates an environment where stale pointers remain active in memory, potentially leading to memory corruption. The flaw operates at the intersection of web standards processing and memory management, where the browser's SVG rendering code does not adequately protect against dangling pointer scenarios. The issue falls under the broader category of memory safety vulnerabilities that are classified as CWE-462, which deals with the use of a pointer after it has been freed, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions, as it can potentially enable more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution or information disclosure. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages containing specially formatted SVG animation elements that trigger the memory corruption when the browser renders them. The stale pointer condition can be leveraged to cause the browser to crash or behave unpredictably, but in some cases, attackers may be able to manipulate the corrupted memory to execute malicious code. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploiting memory corruption to gain code execution privileges, and T1059, which covers the use of web-based attack vectors to compromise systems. The vulnerability's potential for remote code execution makes it particularly dangerous in environments where users browse untrusted websites or receive malicious content through web-based attack vectors.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-1116 primarily involve immediate browser updates to versions 9.0.597.107 or later, which contain patches addressing the memory management issues in SVG animation processing. System administrators should implement automated update mechanisms to ensure all browser installations remain current with security patches. Additional protective measures include implementing web content filtering solutions that can identify and block malicious SVG content, enabling browser security features such as sandboxing and strict content security policies, and maintaining comprehensive monitoring for unusual browser behavior or crashes. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust memory management in web browsers and highlights the need for continuous security testing of web rendering engines against memory corruption attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify exploitation attempts targeting similar memory safety vulnerabilities in web browsers and other software applications.