CVE-2011-1816 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in the developer tools in Google Chrome before 12.0.742.91 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 CVE-2011-1816 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw within Google Chrome's developer tools component, affecting versions prior to 12.0.742.91. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to reference memory that has already been freed, creating potential exploitation opportunities for remote attackers. The issue specifically resides in the browser's debugging and development utilities rather than core browsing functionality, making it particularly concerning given the privileged nature of developer tools and their frequent use in security research and application development. The vulnerability falls under CWE-416, which categorizes use-after-free conditions as a fundamental memory safety issue that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leverages the improper memory management within Chrome's developer tools implementation, where certain objects may be freed from memory while still being referenced by active processes or callbacks. Attackers can craft malicious web content that triggers specific sequences within the developer tools interface, causing the browser to execute code that references already deallocated memory regions. This creates opportunities for remote code execution or denial of service conditions that can crash the browser process or potentially escalate privileges. The unspecified nature of the potential impacts suggests that the vulnerability may have broader implications beyond simple denial of service, potentially allowing for more sophisticated exploitation techniques that align with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script interpreter execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple browser instability, as developer tools are frequently enabled during security testing and application development phases. This increases the attack surface significantly since security researchers and developers may inadvertently trigger the vulnerability while debugging applications. The remote nature of the attack vector means that simply visiting a malicious website could compromise a victim's system, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or compromised websites. Organizations using older versions of Chrome for development environments face heightened risk, as the vulnerability can be exploited through normal web browsing activities without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond visiting malicious content. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of keeping browser components updated, as the fix in Chrome 12.0.742.91 addressed the underlying memory management issues in the developer tools implementation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-1816 primarily focus on immediate patching of affected Chrome versions and implementing network-level controls to restrict access to potentially malicious websites. Security teams should ensure that all Chrome installations are updated to version 12.0.742.91 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. Browser hardening measures including disabling developer tools in production environments where possible can reduce the attack surface, though this may impact legitimate development activities. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect and block suspicious web traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive vulnerability management programs that include regular browser updates, as developer tools often receive less security scrutiny than core browser components. Organizations should also implement web application firewalls and content filtering solutions to prevent access to known malicious domains that may exploit this and similar vulnerabilities. This case study underscores the critical need for maintaining up-to-date browser security patches and the potential for seemingly benign components like developer tools to serve as attack vectors in sophisticated exploitation campaigns.