CVE-2012-2855 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in the PDF functionality in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.57 on Mac OS X and Linux, and before 21.0.1180.60 on Windows and Chrome Frame, 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 • 03/27/2021
The CVE-2012-2855 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw within Google Chrome's PDF rendering engine that affected multiple platform versions prior to specific release thresholds. This vulnerability specifically targets the PDF functionality implementation in Chrome browsers, creating a dangerous condition where memory that had been freed was subsequently accessed by malicious code. The flaw exists in the way Chrome handles PDF documents, particularly when processing crafted malicious PDF files that trigger improper memory management during document parsing and rendering operations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory deallocation practices within Chrome's PDF handling code path. When processing malicious PDF documents, the browser's PDF renderer fails to properly manage object lifecycles, leading to situations where memory addresses are freed but references to those addresses persist and are later accessed. This creates a use-after-free condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause system instability. The vulnerability manifests primarily during PDF document parsing operations, where the memory management system does not adequately validate object references after memory deallocation has occurred.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-2855 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable remote code execution and system compromise. Attackers can craft specially designed PDF documents that, when opened in vulnerable Chrome versions, trigger the use-after-free condition and allow for arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the browser process. This represents a significant security risk as PDF documents are commonly encountered in web browsing, email attachments, and document sharing scenarios. The vulnerability affects both desktop and mobile platforms, with different version thresholds for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux systems, indicating a widespread impact across Chrome's user base.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions in software implementations, and represents a classic example of memory safety issues that have plagued web browsers for years. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving remote code execution through browser exploitation, specifically leveraging the T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution tactic. The vulnerability demonstrates how PDF rendering engines, being complex components with extensive memory management requirements, can become attack vectors when proper memory safety practices are not implemented. Organizations and users should prioritize patching affected Chrome versions to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability could enable attackers to bypass security controls and gain unauthorized access to systems through seemingly benign PDF documents.
The remediation approach for CVE-2012-2855 requires immediate deployment of patched Chrome versions that address the memory management issues in the PDF rendering component. Google released updates for all affected platforms that corrected the improper memory deallocation patterns and implemented proper reference validation mechanisms. System administrators should ensure that all Chrome installations are updated to versions 21.0.1180.57 or later for Mac OS X and Linux, and 21.0.1180.60 or later for Windows and Chrome Frame. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing PDF document scanning and validation measures as part of their security posture to reduce exposure to malicious PDF files that may exploit similar vulnerabilities in other software components.