CVE-2014-7906 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in the Pepper plugins in Google Chrome before 39.0.2171.65 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted Flash content that triggers an attempted PepperMediaDeviceManager access outside of the object's lifetime.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2022
The CVE-2014-7906 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw within Google Chrome's Pepper plugins implementation that existed prior to version 39.0.2171.65. This vulnerability specifically targets the PepperMediaDeviceManager component which is part of Chrome's Pepper Plugin API framework designed to provide multimedia functionality through browser plugins. The flaw occurs when malicious Flash content attempts to access the PepperMediaDeviceManager object after it has already been freed from memory, creating a dangerous scenario where the application continues to reference deallocated memory locations. This particular vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of use-after-free conditions, which is a well-documented class of memory safety issues that have been the root cause of numerous security exploits over the years. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under the T1059.007 technique for exploitation through web-based attacks, specifically targeting browser plugin execution environments.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves crafting malicious Flash content that triggers the improper handling of the PepperMediaDeviceManager object lifecycle. When Chrome processes such content, the plugin system attempts to access a memory location that has already been deallocated, leading to unpredictable behavior that can manifest as application crashes, memory corruption, or potentially more severe consequences. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can deliver malicious Flash content through web pages, email attachments, or other delivery mechanisms without requiring local system access. The potential impact extends beyond simple denial of service to include unspecified other impacts that could potentially allow for code execution or privilege escalation depending on the specific memory corruption patterns and the target system's security mitigations. The vulnerability's exploitation relies on the browser's plugin architecture failing to properly validate object lifetimes before allowing access to plugin interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Chrome browsers, particularly those that do not maintain up-to-date security patches or have limited browser update management processes. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to cause persistent service disruptions through denial of service attacks, making web applications and services unreliable for end users. The unspecified other impacts represent a serious concern as use-after-free conditions often provide pathways for more sophisticated exploitation techniques including heap spraying, return-oriented programming, or other advanced attack vectors that could potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. Organizations may experience reduced browser stability, increased support tickets related to application crashes, and potential exposure to more advanced persistent threats that could exploit the underlying memory corruption to gain unauthorized access to systems. The vulnerability's presence in the Pepper plugin system also indicates that the broader plugin architecture was susceptible to similar memory safety issues, highlighting the need for comprehensive security reviews of browser plugin frameworks. Security teams should consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts and establish robust patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security updates that address this and similar memory safety vulnerabilities.