CVE-2011-1814 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 12.0.742.91 attempts to read data from an uninitialized pointer, 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 • 11/08/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1814 represents a critical memory safety issue affecting Google Chrome versions prior to 12.0.742.91. This flaw manifests as an uninitialized pointer dereference that occurs during the browser's data processing operations, creating a potential attack surface for remote threat actors. The vulnerability falls under the broader category of memory corruption issues that have historically been exploited to execute arbitrary code or cause system instability. The specific nature of the uninitialized pointer access suggests that Chrome's rendering engine or associated components were attempting to access memory locations that had not been properly initialized, creating unpredictable behavior patterns that could be leveraged by malicious actors.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within Chrome's core architecture, specifically within components responsible for handling web content and data processing. When the browser encounters certain web page elements or data structures, it attempts to read from memory locations that have not been explicitly initialized with valid data. This uninitialized memory access can result in unpredictable program behavior, as the pointer may contain arbitrary data from previous operations or system memory segments. The flaw operates at a low level within the browser's execution environment, potentially affecting multiple subsystems including JavaScript engines, rendering components, and network processing modules. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-457: Use of uninitialized variable, which is a well-documented pattern that can lead to both denial of service and potential code execution scenarios.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1814 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the specific exploitation vectors. Remote attackers could craft malicious web pages or content that triggers the uninitialized pointer access, leading to browser crashes or system instability that disrupts user experience and potentially provides a foothold for further exploitation. The unspecified other impacts mentioned in the vulnerability description suggest that under certain conditions, this memory corruption could be leveraged to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges. Attackers might utilize this vulnerability as part of a multi-stage attack chain, combining it with other exploits to achieve persistent access or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's remote nature means that users could be compromised simply by visiting malicious websites or viewing compromised content, making it particularly dangerous in the context of modern web browsing environments where users frequently encounter untrusted content.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate patching and system updates to ensure users operate with patched versions of Google Chrome. Organizations should implement comprehensive update management policies to ensure all browser installations remain current with security patches. Browser vendors and system administrators should also consider implementing additional security controls such as sandboxing mechanisms, memory protection features, and network monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust memory management practices in browser development and underscores the need for continuous security auditing of core components. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage, T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, and T1489 for Service Stop, as it enables attackers to cause service disruption and potentially gain execution privileges. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should include evaluation of memory safety issues to identify similar vulnerabilities in other browser components or applications that may be susceptible to similar uninitialized pointer access patterns.