CVE-2011-1799 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 11.0.696.68 does not properly perform casts of variables during interaction with the WebKit engine, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1799 represents a critical type casting issue within Google Chrome's JavaScript engine that interacts with the WebKit rendering engine. This flaw exists in Chrome versions prior to 11.0.696.68 and stems from improper handling of variable type conversions during web page processing. The vulnerability manifests when the browser encounters certain JavaScript code that triggers malformed type casting operations, creating a potential pathway for malicious actors to exploit the browser's execution flow. This issue falls under the category of improper type handling and memory corruption vulnerabilities that have historically been exploited for both denial of service attacks and more severe remote code execution scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the browser's JavaScript engine failing to properly validate or convert data types during runtime operations within the WebKit framework. When Chrome processes JavaScript code that contains specific patterns of variable casting, the engine may incorrectly interpret or manipulate data types, leading to unpredictable behavior in the browser's memory management. This improper casting can result in memory corruption, stack overflows, or heap corruption that manifests as browser instability, crashes, or complete application failure. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service as the nature of type casting errors in browser engines often provides opportunities for more sophisticated exploitation techniques that could potentially lead to arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1799 is significant within the context of web browser security and enterprise computing environments where Chrome serves as a primary browser. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability through malicious web pages that contain specifically crafted JavaScript code designed to trigger the type casting error when the browser processes the page content. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that users can be compromised simply by visiting malicious websites, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or drive-by download scenarios. The unspecified other impacts mentioned in the original description suggest that beyond the immediate denial of service effects, this vulnerability could potentially provide attackers with additional attack vectors or escalation paths that were not fully characterized at the time of discovery.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper handling of length variables, and CWE-128, which covers the handling of underflow and overflow conditions, both of which relate to the broader category of memory corruption vulnerabilities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and execution through web-based attacks, particularly T1059.007 for JavaScript execution and T1203 for exploitation of software vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws in browser engines can create substantial security risks, as the JavaScript engine's interaction with the underlying WebKit framework creates multiple potential attack surfaces. Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability as it represents a foundational security issue that could be exploited by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to systems or disrupt normal operations through persistent denial of service conditions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-1799 require immediate deployment of Chrome updates to version 11.0.696.68 or later, which contain the necessary fixes for the type casting implementation. Network security controls should include web application firewalls and content filtering systems that can detect and block known malicious JavaScript patterns. Browser hardening measures such as disabling unnecessary JavaScript features, implementing strict content security policies, and using sandboxing technologies can provide additional defense layers. Security monitoring should focus on detecting unusual browser behavior, unexpected crashes, or memory access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing of web applications should include checks for similar type casting vulnerabilities in other browser engines and web frameworks to prevent similar issues from being overlooked in the broader attack surface.