CVE-2012-5144 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 23.0.1271.97, and Libav 0.7.x before 0.7.7 and 0.8.x before 0.8.5, do not properly perform AAC decoding, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to "an off-by-one overwrite when switching to LTP profile from MAIN."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-5144 represents a critical stack memory corruption issue affecting multimedia decoding components in Google Chrome and Libav media frameworks. This flaw manifests during the processing of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) files when the decoder transitions from the MAIN profile to the LTP (Long Term Prediction) profile, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to compromise system stability and potentially execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability specifically targets the boundary condition handling within the AAC decoder implementation, where an off-by-one error occurs during profile switching operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-787, which addresses out-of-bounds write operations. The flaw occurs when the AAC decoder fails to properly validate the boundary conditions during profile transitions, leading to a single byte overwrite that corrupts adjacent stack memory locations. This type of memory corruption can result in unpredictable program behavior, application crashes, or in more severe cases, allow attackers to manipulate program execution flow through controlled memory corruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates within the multimedia processing pipeline where user-supplied content can trigger the exploitable code path without requiring user interaction beyond content consumption.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to systems that process multimedia content, particularly those running affected versions of Chrome or Libav components. The remote attack vector means that simply visiting a malicious website or opening a specially crafted media file can trigger the exploit, making it highly dangerous in web browsing contexts. The potential impacts range from simple denial of service conditions that crash applications to more sophisticated attacks that could enable remote code execution, depending on the specific memory corruption patterns and the target system's memory layout. The vulnerability affects both desktop and mobile platforms where these components are integrated, creating widespread exposure across various operating systems and device types.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-5144 should prioritize immediate patching of affected software components, with Chrome users upgrading to version 23.0.1271.97 or later and Libav users updating to versions 0.7.7 or 0.8.5 respectively. Organizations should implement network-based controls such as content filtering and sandboxing mechanisms to limit exposure to potentially malicious media content. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and implement intrusion detection systems capable of identifying suspicious media file processing patterns. Additionally, regular security assessments of multimedia processing pipelines and input validation controls should be conducted to identify similar boundary condition vulnerabilities that may exist in other components of the system architecture. The remediation process should also include comprehensive testing of patched components to ensure that the fix does not introduce regressions in legitimate media processing functionality while maintaining the security benefits of the patch.