CVE-2011-2824 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 13.0.782.215 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving counter nodes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2824 represents a critical use-after-free condition affecting Google Chrome versions prior to 13.0.782.215. This flaw resides within the browser's handling of counter nodes, which are typically used in web applications to track and display various metrics such as user interactions, page views, or other dynamic content elements. The vulnerability manifests when the browser processes counter-related DOM elements that are manipulated in ways that lead to memory management issues during object lifecycle handling.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within Chrome's rendering engine where counter nodes are created, modified, and eventually destroyed. When an attacker crafts malicious web content that manipulates counter nodes in specific sequences, the browser's memory allocator may attempt to access memory that has already been freed, leading to unpredictable behavior. This use-after-free condition can be exploited through carefully constructed web pages that trigger the problematic code path involving counter node manipulation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to Chrome users as it can be exploited remotely through web-based attacks without requiring any user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website. The potential impact extends beyond simple denial of service, as the unspecified other impacts referenced in the CVE description suggest that attackers might be able to execute arbitrary code or achieve privilege escalation depending on the specific memory corruption patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the inherent complexity of modern browser security where memory management errors can translate into severe exploitation vectors.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under the technique of code injection and memory corruption attacks, specifically targeting browser rendering engines. This flaw represents a classic example of how seemingly benign web features like counter nodes can become attack surfaces when not properly validated. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-416 indicates improper free handling, where the system attempts to access memory after it has been freed, a pattern commonly associated with remote code execution exploits. Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability as it represents a known exploit vector that could be actively leveraged in the wild, particularly given Chrome's widespread adoption and the relative ease of crafting the malicious web content required for successful exploitation.