CVE-2011-3090 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in Google Chrome before 19.0.1084.46 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to worker processes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/13/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3090 represents a critical race condition flaw within Google Chrome browser versions prior to 19.0.1084.46. This security issue specifically affects the worker process management system within the browser architecture, creating a window of opportunity for remote attackers to exploit the system's concurrency handling mechanisms. The race condition occurs when multiple threads or processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously without proper synchronization, leading to unpredictable behavior that can compromise system stability and security integrity. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of concurrency-related security flaws that have been extensively documented in industry standards such as CWE-362, which specifically addresses race conditions in software systems. The flaw manifests in the browser's handling of worker processes, which are separate threads designed to perform background tasks without blocking the main user interface thread.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks that could compromise user data and system integrity. Remote attackers can leverage this race condition to cause unpredictable behavior in the browser's worker processes, potentially leading to crashes that disrupt user experience or create opportunities for further exploitation. The unspecified other impacts mentioned in the vulnerability description suggest that attackers might be able to leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary code or gain unauthorized access to system resources. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in browser environments where users frequently interact with untrusted web content, as it provides an attack surface that can be exploited through standard web browsing activities. The race condition affects the fundamental worker process architecture that Chrome employs to handle background operations such as file I/O, network requests, and other asynchronous tasks that are essential to modern web applications.
Security researchers have classified this vulnerability as particularly concerning due to its potential for both denial of service and more severe exploitation vectors that could compromise user systems. The browser's worker process model creates multiple execution contexts that must be carefully synchronized to prevent such race conditions from occurring. When these synchronization mechanisms fail, attackers can manipulate the timing and execution flow to trigger the race condition, potentially leading to memory corruption or privilege escalation scenarios. The vulnerability demonstrates the complexity of modern browser architectures where multiple processes and threads must communicate efficiently while maintaining security boundaries. Organizations implementing browser security policies must consider this vulnerability when assessing risk, as it represents a fundamental flaw in how Chrome manages concurrent execution contexts. The impact is particularly significant in enterprise environments where browser-based applications are heavily utilized and where a single compromised browser instance could potentially provide attackers with access to sensitive corporate data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-3090 primarily focus on immediate browser updates to versions 19.0.1084.46 and later, which contain the necessary patches to address the race condition in worker process handling. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected Chrome installations are updated promptly. Additionally, organizations can employ browser hardening techniques such as disabling unnecessary worker processes, implementing strict content security policies, and monitoring for unusual browser behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date browser software and demonstrates how seemingly minor concurrency issues can have significant security implications. Security teams should also consider implementing network-based monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific race condition. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under techniques related to privilege escalation and denial of service, emphasizing the need for layered security approaches that address both application-level and network-level threats. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure they can quickly identify and respond to potential exploitation attempts involving browser-based race conditions.