CVE-2011-3878 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in Google Chrome before 15.0.874.102 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to worker process initialization.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3878 represents a critical race condition affecting Google Chrome versions prior to 15.0.874.102. This flaw resides within the browser's worker process initialization mechanism, creating a window of opportunity for remote attackers to exploit system instability. The race condition occurs when multiple threads or processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously without proper synchronization controls, leading to unpredictable behavior that can compromise system integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate thread synchronization during the initialization phase of Chrome's worker processes. When the browser creates background worker threads to handle concurrent operations, the timing dependencies between process creation, resource allocation, and memory management create exploitable conditions. Attackers can manipulate the execution flow by carefully orchestrating requests that trigger the race condition, potentially causing the worker processes to crash or behave erratically. This vulnerability falls under CWE-362, which specifically addresses race conditions in concurrent programming environments.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against Chrome users by forcing worker processes to terminate unexpectedly. The instability can manifest as complete browser crashes, rendering the affected system unusable until manual restart occurs. Additionally, the unspecified other impacts referenced in the vulnerability description suggest potential for more severe consequences including privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution, though these remain unconfirmed. The attack vector involves sending specially crafted web content that triggers the race condition during worker process initialization, making it particularly dangerous in web browsing environments where users encounter untrusted content regularly.
The security implications extend beyond simple service disruption as this vulnerability demonstrates weaknesses in Chrome's process management architecture. The flaw highlights the importance of proper synchronization mechanisms in multi-threaded applications and underscores the need for comprehensive testing of concurrent operations. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to mitigate potential exploitation. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating to Chrome version 15.0.874.102 or later, which implements proper synchronization controls to prevent the race condition from being exploited. Security teams should also consider implementing network-based protections such as web application firewalls and monitoring for unusual browser process behavior to detect potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of robust concurrency controls in modern web browsers where multiple processes must interact seamlessly while maintaining security boundaries.