CVE-2011-1793 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
rendering/svg/RenderSVGResourceFilter.cpp in WebCore in WebKit in Google Chrome before 11.0.696.65 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted SVG document that leads to a "stale pointer."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1793 represents a critical memory safety issue within the WebKit rendering engine's SVG filter processing component. This flaw exists in the RenderSVGResourceFilter.cpp file within WebCore, which is responsible for handling scalable vector graphics within the browser's rendering pipeline. The vulnerability specifically manifests when Chrome processes crafted SVG documents that contain malformed filter references, leading to improper memory management during the rendering process.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from a stale pointer condition that occurs when the browser attempts to render SVG filter resources. When a malicious SVG document contains carefully constructed filter elements, the WebKit engine fails to properly validate or manage the memory references associated with these resources. This stale pointer scenario creates a situation where the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed or reallocated, resulting in unpredictable behavior. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory management and graphics rendering, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through standard web content delivery.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions. While the primary effect is application crash leading to denial of service, the potential for unspecified other impacts suggests that attackers might be able to leverage this weakness for more sophisticated attacks. The stale pointer condition could theoretically be exploited to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges, though the specific exploitation vectors would depend on the browser's memory layout and security mitigations in place. This vulnerability demonstrates the inherent risks in complex rendering engines where graphics processing intersects with memory management, creating potential attack surfaces that are difficult to predict and mitigate.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-462, which describes duplicate free errors in memory management, and represents a classic case of improper handling of memory references during object lifecycle management. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw would be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1203, as it could be used to disrupt service availability through application crashes. The attack vector requires a victim to load a malicious SVG document, which could be delivered through various means including email attachments, compromised websites, or social engineering campaigns. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability highlights the importance of robust memory management practices in graphics rendering components, particularly those handling user-supplied content.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to 11.0.696.65 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. Organizations should also implement content filtering measures to restrict SVG file execution, particularly in environments where users might encounter untrusted content. Browser security teams should consider implementing additional memory safety checks and address sanitization to prevent similar stale pointer conditions in future development. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of comprehensive testing for memory safety issues in rendering engines, particularly those handling complex graphics formats like SVG. Regular security audits of graphics processing components should be prioritized to identify and remediate similar memory management flaws before they can be exploited in the wild.