CVE-2011-2789 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 13.0.782.107 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to instantiation of the Pepper plug-in.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/16/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2789 represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Google Chrome browsers prior to version 13.0.782.107. This vulnerability specifically affects the Pepper plugin infrastructure, which serves as Google's cross-platform plugin API for rich internet applications and multimedia content delivery within the browser environment. The issue arises from improper memory management during the instantiation process of Pepper plugins, creating a scenario where freed memory regions are accessed after being deallocated, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential exploitation.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted web content that triggers the instantiation of a Pepper plugin in a manner that causes memory corruption. When the browser processes malicious plugin initialization requests, the memory management system fails to properly track the lifecycle of plugin objects, resulting in a use-after-free condition where subsequent operations attempt to access memory that has already been freed. This memory corruption can manifest in various ways including browser crashes, memory corruption, or potentially more severe consequences depending on the specific memory layout and exploitation techniques employed by attackers. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered remotely through web pages without requiring user interaction beyond visiting the malicious site, making it a prime target for drive-by download attacks.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for organizations relying on Chrome browsers for web-based applications and content delivery. The potential for denial of service attacks means that malicious websites can reliably crash browser sessions, disrupting user productivity and potentially affecting business operations. More concerning is the possibility of unspecified other impacts that could include remote code execution, as demonstrated by similar use-after-free vulnerabilities in browser environments. The attack surface is particularly broad since Pepper plugins are commonly used for multimedia content, gaming applications, and rich web experiences, making legitimate web content a potential vector for exploitation. Organizations using older Chrome versions remain vulnerable to this attack vector, as the memory corruption issues can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code on affected systems, potentially leading to full system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-2789 primarily focus on immediate remediation through browser version updates to Chrome 13.0.782.107 or later, which contain the necessary memory management fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management processes to ensure all browser installations are updated promptly, as this vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild. Additional protective measures include implementing web content filtering solutions that can detect and block malicious plugin content, enabling sandboxing features that limit the impact of potential exploitation, and considering the temporary disabling of Pepper plugin support where possible. Security teams should monitor for indicators of compromise related to this vulnerability, particularly focusing on unusual browser crashes or memory access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions, and represents a classic example of how improper memory management can create persistent security risks in browser environments. This type of vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1059, where adversaries leverage browser-based attacks to execute malicious code through compromised web content, demonstrating the importance of maintaining up-to-date browser security patches as a fundamental defense mechanism.