CVE-2011-3884 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 15.0.874.102 does not properly address timing issues during DOM traversal, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted document.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3884 affects Google Chrome versions prior to 15.0.874.102 and stems from improper handling of timing issues during Document Object Model traversal operations. This flaw represents a classic race condition scenario where the browser's DOM traversal mechanism fails to maintain consistent state during asynchronous operations, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit temporal inconsistencies in the rendering engine's execution flow.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within Chrome's rendering engine where DOM traversal operations are subject to timing variations that can be manipulated by attackers. When the browser processes documents containing crafted elements, the timing discrepancies during node traversal can lead to memory corruption or unpredictable behavior. This issue falls under the CWE-362 category of race conditions, specifically involving timing-related vulnerabilities that exploit the temporal aspects of concurrent operations. The vulnerability demonstrates how improper synchronization during DOM processing can create exploitable conditions that extend beyond simple denial of service to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks by crafting malicious web documents that trigger the timing inconsistencies during DOM traversal. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the vulnerability may potentially enable arbitrary code execution or information disclosure depending on the specific exploitation scenario. Attackers can leverage this flaw by hosting specially crafted web pages that, when loaded in affected Chrome versions, cause the browser to crash or behave unpredictably. The vulnerability's remote nature means that exploitation requires no local access and can be delivered through standard web browsing activities, making it particularly dangerous in real-world scenarios.
The attack surface for CVE-2011-3884 aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage browser vulnerabilities to execute malicious code. This vulnerability also maps to the broader ATT&CK tactic of Execution, as successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution within the browser context. Organizations using affected Chrome versions face significant risk exposure since the vulnerability can be exploited through standard web browsing without requiring user interaction beyond visiting malicious websites. The timing-based nature of the flaw makes it particularly challenging to detect and mitigate through traditional network-based security controls.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate patching of Chrome installations to version 15.0.874.102 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the DOM traversal timing issues. Additional protective measures include implementing browser hardening configurations that restrict DOM manipulation operations, deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious content, and establishing monitoring for unusual browser behavior patterns. Security teams should also consider implementing browser isolation techniques and maintaining updated threat intelligence feeds to identify potential exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. The remediation process must include comprehensive testing to ensure that patch deployment does not introduce compatibility issues with existing web applications or browser extensions.