CVE-2011-3054 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
The WebUI privilege implementation in Google Chrome before 17.0.963.83 does not properly perform isolation, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3054 represents a critical flaw in Google Chrome's WebUI privilege implementation that existed prior to version 17.0.963.83. This issue falls under the category of privilege escalation and access control bypass vulnerabilities, specifically affecting the browser's handling of web-based user interfaces that require elevated privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient isolation mechanisms within Chrome's architecture that are responsible for managing access to sensitive administrative functions and system-level operations through the web user interface.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper enforcement of privilege boundaries within Chrome's WebUI components, which are designed to provide access to system configuration and administrative functions through web-based interfaces. These interfaces typically require elevated privileges to perform operations such as network configuration, security settings modification, or system diagnostics. The vulnerability occurs when the browser fails to properly isolate these privileged operations from regular web content, allowing malicious actors to exploit the insufficient access controls through unspecified attack vectors. This weakness creates a pathway for remote attackers to execute unauthorized operations that should be restricted to privileged users or system processes.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to Chrome users and organizations that rely on the browser for both regular web browsing and administrative tasks. Remote attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can bypass intended access restrictions to perform actions that would normally require elevated privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it affects the browser's built-in administrative interfaces, which are often used for legitimate system management tasks. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple exploitation techniques may be possible, making the vulnerability more dangerous and harder to defend against. This type of privilege escalation vulnerability can enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system information, modify critical configurations, or even execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control mechanisms, and represents a failure in the principle of least privilege implementation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and defense evasion, as attackers can bypass security controls to gain elevated system access. The issue demonstrates a fundamental flaw in Chrome's security architecture where the separation between privileged and unprivileged web content is inadequate. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Chrome version 17.0.963.83 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for proper privilege isolation. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious activity related to browser-based administrative interfaces. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper privilege management in browser security models and underscores the need for continuous security updates to address emerging threats in web-based applications.