CVE-2011-3880 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 15.0.874.102 does not prevent use of an unspecified special character as a delimiter in HTTP headers, which has unknown impact and remote attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3880 resides in Google Chrome versions prior to 15.0.874.102 and represents a critical security flaw related to HTTP header parsing mechanisms. This issue specifically involves the browser's inability to properly handle certain special characters that can function as delimiters within HTTP headers, creating potential attack vectors that remain unspecified but pose significant risks to web security infrastructure. The flaw stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of header content, allowing malicious actors to potentially manipulate or exploit the parsing behavior of the browser's HTTP stack.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in Chrome's HTTP header processing logic where the browser does not adequately distinguish between legitimate delimiters and potentially malicious special characters that could be used to craft deceptive header structures. This parsing inconsistency creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate how headers are interpreted during HTTP communication, potentially leading to injection attacks or bypass mechanisms that could compromise web application security. The unspecified nature of the impact suggests that various attack vectors may be possible, ranging from simple header manipulation to more complex exploitation scenarios involving cross-site scripting or other web-based attacks.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Chrome as their primary browser for web applications and services. The remote attack vectors associated with this flaw mean that malicious actors can potentially exploit the vulnerability without requiring physical access to target systems, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where web browsing is a core business function. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially affect web application integrity, data confidentiality, and overall network security posture when users access compromised or malicious websites.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 related to application layer protocol manipulation. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to mitigate this risk, while also implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additional defensive measures include browser hardening configurations, web application firewalls, and enhanced HTTP header validation at network boundaries to prevent malicious header manipulation from reaching user systems. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure comprehensive protection against similar parsing vulnerabilities that could exist in other browser components or web infrastructure elements.