CVE-2013-6632 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Integer overflow in Google Chrome before 31.0.1650.57 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, as demonstrated during a Mobile Pwn2Own competition at PacSec 2013.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-6632 represents a critical integer overflow flaw present in Google Chrome versions prior to 31.0.1650.57. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-190 category of Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which occurs when a program performs arithmetic operations on integer values that exceed the maximum representable value for the data type, leading to unexpected behavior. The flaw was particularly significant because it could be exploited remotely to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions through memory corruption. During the Mobile Pwn2Own competition at PacSec 2013, this vulnerability was successfully demonstrated as a practical exploit, highlighting its real-world threat potential.
The technical implementation of this integer overflow vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within Chrome's memory management subsystem. When processing certain web content, the browser's rendering engine or memory allocation routines would encounter integer values that, when incremented or decremented, would wrap around to unexpected values due to the overflow condition. This particular flaw was exploitable through unspecified vectors, suggesting it could be triggered by various web-based inputs including malformed HTML, JavaScript, or multimedia content. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means attackers could leverage it through malicious websites without requiring user interaction beyond visiting the compromised page.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-6632 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to encompass full arbitrary code execution capabilities. This makes it particularly dangerous in the context of modern web browsing environments where users frequently visit untrusted websites. The memory corruption resulting from the integer overflow could be manipulated to overwrite critical memory locations, potentially allowing attackers to inject and execute malicious code within the browser's memory space. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary commands through browser-based exploitation. The flaw particularly affected mobile browser users since the demonstration occurred at a mobile security competition, indicating the vulnerability was present across Chrome's mobile platform implementations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of Chrome installations to version 31.0.1650.57 or later, which included specific fixes addressing the integer overflow conditions in memory handling routines. Organizations should have implemented comprehensive browser update policies to ensure all users were protected against this threat. Additional defensive measures included browser hardening configurations, sandboxing implementations, and network-based security controls such as web application firewalls that could detect and block malicious content. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw necessitated immediate remediation efforts, as the attack surface was extremely broad and could be exploited by adversaries without requiring physical access to target systems. Security professionals should have monitored exploit trends and updated their threat intelligence feeds to track variants or similar vulnerabilities that might emerge from the same root cause conditions.