CVE-2014-7943 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Skia, as used in Google Chrome before 40.0.2214.91, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/06/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7943 represents a critical out-of-bounds read flaw within Skia graphics library, which serves as the core rendering engine for Google Chrome browser prior to version 40.0.2214.91. This issue resides in the graphics processing subsystem that handles various visual elements including images, text rendering, and graphical user interface components. The vulnerability affects the underlying Skia graphics library implementation that Chrome uses for its rendering pipeline, making it a fundamental component of the browser's visual architecture. Such flaws in graphics libraries are particularly dangerous as they can be triggered through seemingly benign web content and provide attackers with opportunities to disrupt normal browser operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as an out-of-bounds read condition that occurs when the Skia library processes certain graphical elements or rendering operations. This flaw allows remote attackers to craft malicious web content that, when rendered by Chrome, causes the graphics library to access memory locations beyond the intended boundaries of allocated buffers. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple attack paths could trigger this condition, potentially through various image formats, CSS properties, or graphical operations that the library handles during page rendering. The out-of-bounds read creates a situation where the application attempts to read data from memory locations that it should not have access to, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential system instability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against affected Chrome installations, effectively disrupting user browsing sessions and potentially causing browser crashes or complete application hangs. The impact extends beyond simple disruption as such vulnerabilities can serve as precursors to more sophisticated attacks, particularly when combined with other exploit primitives. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers can trigger the condition through web pages without requiring any local user interaction or privileges, making it particularly dangerous in the context of modern web browsing. The out-of-bounds read condition can cause the browser to crash or behave unpredictably, forcing users to restart their browsing sessions and potentially leading to data loss or interrupted workflows.
The security implications of CVE-2014-7943 align with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities that occur when a program reads data past the end of a valid buffer. This classification indicates that the flaw stems from inadequate bounds checking within the graphics processing code, where the Skia library fails to properly validate input parameters before accessing memory regions. The vulnerability demonstrates how graphics libraries can become attack surfaces that compromise entire applications, as the rendering engine operates with high privileges and processes untrusted input from web pages. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a software exploitation technique, specifically targeting the rendering engine component to cause system instability and denial of service conditions. Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability as it represents a foundational security issue that could be leveraged in more complex attack scenarios. The remediation involves updating to Chrome version 40.0.2214.91 or later, which includes fixes that address the bounds checking issues within the Skia library implementation.