CVE-2013-2836 in FFmpeg
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in Google Chrome before 27.0.1453.93 allow attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have other impact via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2836 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome browser versions prior to 27.0.1453.93. This designation indicates that the issue affects multiple unspecified vulnerabilities within the browser's architecture, suggesting a broad category of potential weaknesses rather than a single discrete flaw. The affected versions of Chrome were widely deployed across enterprise and consumer environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning from a threat landscape perspective. The vulnerability classification as affecting "multiple unspecified vulnerabilities" typically indicates that the underlying root cause may be a systemic issue in how Chrome processes certain inputs or handles specific operations, rather than isolated bugs.
The technical nature of this vulnerability allows attackers to potentially cause denial of service conditions within the Chrome browser environment. From a cybersecurity perspective, this represents a significant risk as denial of service attacks can disrupt legitimate user access to web applications and services. The unspecified vectors suggest that attackers could exploit various mechanisms within Chrome's rendering engine, memory management, or network handling components to trigger the denial of service conditions. These vulnerabilities likely reside in the browser's core components that process web content, handle user interactions, or manage system resources, potentially including memory corruption issues or improper input validation that could be exploited through crafted web pages or network traffic.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-2836 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially encompass broader security implications. When attackers can cause denial of service through unspecified vectors, they may also gain opportunities to execute additional malicious activities or escalate privileges within the affected system. The vulnerability's potential for "possibly have other impact" indicates that while denial of service is the primary concern, there could be secondary effects including information disclosure, privilege escalation, or remote code execution depending on the specific exploitation vectors. This aligns with common attack patterns where initial denial of service attempts can serve as precursors to more sophisticated attacks, particularly in enterprise environments where browser-based attacks are frequently used as initial access vectors.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability would map to multiple CWE entries including CWE-119 for memory safety issues, CWE-476 for null pointer dereferences, and potentially CWE-399 for resource management issues. The attack surface for this vulnerability would align with ATT&CK techniques such as T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution and T1499 for Endpoint Denial of Service, which are commonly observed in enterprise threat models. Organizations utilizing affected Chrome versions would be particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks where adversaries leverage these unspecified vulnerabilities to disrupt business operations or gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems. The remediation process would require immediate browser updates to version 27.0.1453.93 or later, along with network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.
The vulnerability landscape surrounding CVE-2013-2836 demonstrates the complexity of modern browser security, where multiple interconnected components can present attack surfaces that are difficult to fully enumerate and protect against. Browser-based vulnerabilities often represent some of the most challenging security issues due to the extensive functionality and complex interactions between various system components. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to address such vulnerabilities promptly, as the window between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation is often very short. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security intelligence and continuous monitoring of browser security advisories to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors.