CVE-2011-3894 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 15.0.874.120 does not properly perform VP8 decoding, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted stream.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/26/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3894 represents a critical flaw in Google Chrome's handling of VP8 video decoding operations that existed prior to version 15.0.874.120. This issue resides within the multimedia processing subsystem of the browser where VP8 video codec decoding is performed, making it a significant concern for web application security. The vulnerability stems from improper validation and handling of malformed VP8 video streams that could be embedded within web pages or delivered through various media delivery mechanisms.
The technical flaw manifests when Chrome processes VP8 video streams that contain malformed or maliciously crafted data structures during the decoding phase. This improper handling leads to memory corruption conditions that can result in unpredictable behavior including application crashes, memory leaks, or potentially more severe consequences. The vulnerability is classified as a memory corruption issue that falls under CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions. When the VP8 decoder encounters malformed input data, it fails to properly validate the stream structure and bounds, leading to unauthorized memory access patterns that can corrupt adjacent memory regions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against Chrome users by simply delivering a crafted VP8 video stream through a malicious website or web application. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the memory corruption could potentially be exploited to execute arbitrary code, although the specific exploitation vector for code execution remains unspecified in the CVE description. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to compromise user systems by presenting malicious video content that triggers the memory corruption during playback, effectively creating a remote code execution vector through the browser's multimedia subsystem.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is broad as VP8 is widely supported in web browsers and is commonly used for video streaming on websites. The vulnerability affects all versions of Chrome prior to 15.0.874.120 and represents a significant security gap in the browser's media processing pipeline. Organizations and users should consider this vulnerability in the context of the ATT&CK framework under the T1203 technique for legitimate code execution and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage. The mitigation strategy involves immediate updating of Chrome browsers to versions 15.0.874.120 or later, which contain the necessary patches to properly validate VP8 stream data and prevent the memory corruption conditions. Additionally, administrators should implement browser security policies that restrict media playback from untrusted sources and consider deploying network-based intrusion detection systems that can detect and block malicious VP8 streams.
The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation in multimedia processing components and demonstrates how seemingly benign media formats can become attack vectors when not properly sanitized. This issue emphasizes the need for robust memory safety practices in browser implementations and the critical importance of timely security updates to protect against known vulnerabilities in widely used software components.