CVE-2011-3882 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability 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 media buffers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2021
The CVE-2011-3882 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Google Chrome versions prior to 15.0.874.102 that fundamentally undermines the browser's memory management integrity. This vulnerability specifically targets the media buffer handling mechanisms within the browser's multimedia processing subsystem, creating a dangerous condition where memory locations are accessed after they have been freed and potentially reallocated by the operating system. The flaw occurs when Chrome's media processing components fail to properly manage reference counts or object lifecycles during buffer operations, leading to situations where freed memory blocks are still being accessed by subsequent operations. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of Use After Free, which is classified as a serious memory safety issue that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it creates potential attack vectors that could be exploited to execute malicious code within the context of the browser process. Remote attackers can craft specially crafted web content or media files that trigger the vulnerable code path when Chrome attempts to process media buffers, causing the browser to access freed memory locations. This exploitation can result in unpredictable behavior including crashes, memory corruption, or potentially full system compromise depending on the specific memory layout and attacker control over the freed memory contents. The vulnerability demonstrates how multimedia processing components in browsers present particularly dangerous attack surfaces due to the complex memory management requirements and the variety of media formats that must be handled securely.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 by enabling adversaries to gain access to system resources through browser exploitation, and represents a classic example of how memory safety issues can be leveraged for privilege escalation or persistent access. The media buffer processing context makes this particularly concerning for enterprise environments where users frequently encounter multimedia content from untrusted sources, including email attachments, web pages, or streaming media services. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or media files that, when viewed in vulnerable Chrome versions, trigger the use-after-free condition and potentially allow for remote code execution. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by Chrome's widespread adoption and the fact that media processing occurs frequently during normal browsing operations, making exploitation relatively easy to achieve.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-3882 primarily focus on immediate patch deployment, as Google released version 15.0.874.102 to address the specific memory management issues in the media buffer handling code. Organizations should prioritize updating all Chrome installations to versions 15.0.874.102 or later, implementing automated patch management systems to ensure comprehensive coverage across all endpoints. Additional defensive measures include deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious media content, implementing browser hardening configurations that restrict media processing capabilities, and utilizing sandboxing technologies that limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. Network-level protections such as content filtering and secure browsing policies can also help reduce the risk of encountering malicious content that triggers this vulnerability, while regular security assessments should verify that all Chrome installations remain up to date and properly configured to prevent exploitation attempts.