CVE-2011-3962 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 17.0.963.46 does not properly perform path clipping, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3962 represents a critical path clipping flaw within Google Chrome browser versions prior to 17.0.963.46. This issue manifests as an improper handling of path clipping operations that can lead to out-of-bounds memory reads, creating a potential denial of service condition that remote attackers can exploit. The vulnerability exists in the browser's rendering engine where path clipping mechanisms fail to properly validate input parameters, allowing malicious actors to craft specific inputs that trigger memory access violations. The flaw specifically impacts Chrome's graphics rendering subsystem where path clipping operations are performed to determine how graphical elements should be displayed within the browser interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking during path clipping operations within Chrome's graphics processing pipeline. When the browser encounters certain graphical elements or rendering commands, it processes path clipping calculations without adequate validation of boundary conditions. This deficiency enables attackers to construct malicious web content that, when rendered by the browser, causes the graphics engine to attempt reading memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. The out-of-bounds read condition occurs during the processing of graphical paths where the clipping algorithm fails to properly constrain the coordinate values, leading to memory corruption that can result in application crashes or system instability. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which describes improper validation of the lower and upper bounds of a resource, and represents a classic example of buffer overflow conditions in graphical rendering contexts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it can potentially enable more sophisticated attacks when combined with other exploitation techniques. Remote attackers can leverage this vulnerability to cause unpredictable behavior in the Chrome browser, including application crashes that may be repeatedly triggered to maintain persistent denial of service conditions. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that simply visiting a malicious website can trigger the conditions necessary to exploit the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in web-based attack scenarios. Attackers can craft specially designed web pages that contain malformed graphics data, which when processed by the vulnerable browser version, will trigger the out-of-bounds read condition. This vulnerability also has implications for browser sandboxing mechanisms, as successful exploitation could potentially allow attackers to bypass certain security boundaries within the browser's execution environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-3962 primarily focus on immediate browser version updates to Chrome 17.0.963.46 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the path clipping validation issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems receive updates promptly, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple browser instances may be in use. Network administrators should consider implementing web filtering solutions that can detect and block known malicious content patterns that may trigger this vulnerability, although such measures represent defensive mitigations rather than complete solutions. Browser vendors should also consider implementing additional runtime protections such as address space layout randomization and stack canaries to make exploitation more difficult even if the underlying vulnerability remains unpatched. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques related to privilege escalation and denial of service, and may be leveraged as part of broader attack chains where initial access is established through other means. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in graphics processing components and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of rendering engines, particularly in complex browser environments where multiple subsystems interact to deliver web content to end users.