CVE-2016-1654 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
The media subsystem in Google Chrome before 50.0.2661.75 does not initialize an unspecified data structure, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid read operation) via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/25/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1654 resides within the media subsystem of Google Chrome browser versions prior to 50.0.2661.75, representing a critical initialization flaw that exposes the application to potential exploitation. This issue stems from the improper handling of an unspecified data structure during the media processing pipeline, creating a scenario where remote attackers can manipulate the browser's behavior through carefully crafted malicious content. The flaw manifests as an invalid read operation that can be triggered without any user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in web-based attack scenarios where adversaries can leverage compromised websites to deliver malicious payloads.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-457, which describes the use of uninitialized variables in software systems, and demonstrates how incomplete initialization of data structures can create exploitable conditions within complex multimedia processing frameworks. When Chrome processes media content such as audio or video files, the uninitialized data structure can lead to memory access violations that result in application instability and potential crashes. This type of vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory management and multimedia processing, where the browser's media engine fails to properly allocate or initialize memory regions before attempting to read from them, creating a condition that can be reliably exploited by remote attackers.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1654 extends beyond simple denial of service, as it represents a potential vector for more sophisticated attacks within the context of the attacker's broader operational capabilities. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that adversaries can trigger the invalid read operation through web-based attacks without requiring local system access or user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website. This characteristic places the vulnerability within the ATT&CK framework's initial access and execution phases, where attackers can leverage web-based exploitation techniques to compromise user systems. The denial of service condition can be used as a stepping stone for more advanced attacks or can simply be employed to disrupt user productivity and system availability.
Organizations and users must implement immediate mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability, including the mandatory upgrade to Chrome version 50.0.2661.75 or later, which contains the necessary patches to properly initialize the affected data structures. Security teams should also consider implementing additional protective measures such as network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious media content patterns, as well as browser hardening configurations that limit media processing capabilities in untrusted environments. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper memory initialization in complex software systems and the potential consequences when such fundamental security practices are overlooked in multimedia processing components that handle diverse and potentially malicious content from the internet.