CVE-2011-2841 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 14.0.835.163 does not properly perform garbage collection during the processing of PDF documents, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted document.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2841 affects Google Chrome versions prior to 14.0.835.163 and relates to improper garbage collection mechanisms during PDF document processing. This flaw resides within the browser's handling of Portable Document Format files, which are commonly encountered when browsing the web. The issue manifests when Chrome processes maliciously crafted PDF documents that exploit memory management deficiencies in the browser's rendering engine. The vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues and represents a critical concern for web security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from Chrome's PDF processing pipeline where memory allocated for document rendering is not properly released or managed during garbage collection cycles. When a malicious PDF document is loaded, the browser's PDF renderer creates temporary memory structures to handle the document's content, but the garbage collection process fails to properly identify and reclaim these resources. This memory management failure creates a condition where repeated processing of such documents can lead to memory exhaustion or unpredictable behavior. The flaw specifically impacts Chrome's internal memory management system that handles PDF objects and their associated resources, creating a potential for denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. Attackers can craft PDF documents that trigger the memory management failure repeatedly, causing the browser to consume excessive memory resources or crash entirely. This can result in complete browser instability, forcing users to restart their browsing sessions and potentially disrupting productivity. In some cases, the improper memory handling could lead to more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution, though the primary impact remains denial of service. The vulnerability affects users across all operating systems where Chrome is installed, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where multiple users may encounter malicious documents.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-2841 primarily focus on updating to patched versions of Google Chrome where the garbage collection issues have been resolved. Users should immediately upgrade to Chrome version 14.0.835.163 or later to address this vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all systems are updated promptly. Additional protective measures include implementing web content filtering solutions that can block or quarantine suspicious PDF files before they reach users. Network administrators should consider deploying sandboxing mechanisms that isolate PDF processing to prevent potential exploitation from affecting the entire system. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in browser applications and highlights the need for robust garbage collection mechanisms when handling complex document formats. This issue aligns with CWE-401 which addresses improper release of memory and represents a classic example of how memory management flaws can be exploited in web browsers. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under privilege escalation or denial of service techniques, as it allows attackers to compromise system availability and potentially gain unauthorized access through resource exhaustion attacks.