CVE-2012-2858 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the WebP decoder 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 WebP image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/27/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-2858 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the WebP image decoder component of Google Chrome browser versions prior to specific patch releases. This issue affects multiple operating systems including Mac OS X and Linux platforms where the vulnerable version is Chrome 21.0.1180.57 or earlier, and Windows systems with Chrome versions before 21.0.1180.60, as well as Chrome Frame implementations. The flaw resides in how the WebP decoder processes specially crafted image files, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to manipulate the browser's memory management.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within the WebP decoding routine, where input validation fails to adequately verify the size and structure of incoming image data. When a malicious WebP image is processed by the vulnerable browser, the decoder attempts to write data beyond the allocated memory buffer, leading to potential memory corruption. This buffer overflow condition can manifest in several ways including application crashes, memory corruption, and in some scenarios could potentially be exploited to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because WebP is a widely supported image format that browsers use to display images from web pages, making it a common attack vector through web-based delivery mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. Remote attackers can craft malicious WebP images that, when loaded by a vulnerable browser, trigger the buffer overflow and cause the application to crash or behave unpredictably. In certain circumstances, the memory corruption could be leveraged to execute malicious code within the browser context, potentially allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to user systems. The cross-platform nature of this vulnerability means that users across different operating systems are equally at risk, though the specific affected versions vary by platform due to different release cycles and patch management schedules.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-2858 primarily involve immediate patching of affected Chrome browser installations to the recommended secure versions. Users should ensure their Chrome browser is updated to version 21.0.1180.57 or later on Mac OS X and Linux systems, and version 21.0.1180.60 or later on Windows systems. Additionally, administrators should implement network-level controls to block or scan WebP image traffic where possible, though this approach is less effective given the widespread use of this image format. Security monitoring should include detection of malformed WebP images in network traffic, and organizations should consider implementing browser hardening measures including sandboxing and privilege separation. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of how multimedia decoders can become attack surfaces when proper input validation is not implemented. The attack pattern follows typical remote code execution vectors described in the ATT&CK framework under techniques related to web-based exploitation and memory corruption attacks.