CVE-2011-2875 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google V8, as used in Google Chrome before 14.0.835.163, does not properly perform object sealing, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors that leverage "type confusion."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2875 affects Google V8 JavaScript engine implementation within Google Chrome browser versions prior to 14.0.835.163. This flaw resides in the engine's object sealing mechanism, which is a fundamental security feature designed to prevent modifications to object properties and maintain type integrity within the JavaScript runtime environment. The V8 engine employs various optimization techniques that rely on predictable object layouts and type information, making proper object sealing crucial for maintaining runtime security and stability.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient object sealing implementation that allows attackers to manipulate object type information during runtime execution. When the JavaScript engine processes code that involves object manipulation, it relies on type information to optimize performance through techniques like inline caching and hidden class transitions. However, the vulnerability enables attackers to exploit the type confusion aspect by manipulating object properties in ways that cause the engine to incorrectly infer object types, leading to potential memory corruption or unexpected behavior.
This vulnerability presents significant operational impact as it can be exploited remotely through web-based attacks without requiring user interaction. Attackers can craft malicious JavaScript code that triggers the type confusion scenario, potentially leading to denial of service conditions where the browser crashes or becomes unresponsive. More critically, the unspecified other impacts could include arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation depending on the specific exploitation scenario and target environment. The vulnerability affects the core JavaScript engine rather than the browser interface, making it particularly dangerous as it can bypass many traditional browser security mechanisms.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under technique T1059.007 for JavaScript execution and T1499.004 for denial of service. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability maps to CWE-122, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. The root cause demonstrates poor input validation and memory management practices within the JavaScript engine's object model implementation. Organizations should immediately update to Chrome version 14.0.835.163 or later to mitigate this vulnerability, as the patch addresses the object sealing implementation to properly enforce type integrity during runtime execution. Additionally, implementing content security policies and restricting JavaScript execution in sensitive contexts can provide additional defense-in-depth measures against potential exploitation attempts.