CVE-2016-7549 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Google Chrome before 53.0.2785.113 does not ensure that the recipient of a certain IPC message is a valid RenderFrame or RenderWidget, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by leveraging access to a renderer process, related to render_frame_host_impl.cc and render_widget_host_impl.cc, as demonstrated by a Password Manager message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7549 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome browsers prior to version 53.0.2785.113 that stems from insufficient validation of inter-process communication message recipients within the browser's rendering architecture. This issue specifically affects the render_frame_host_impl.cc and render_widget_host_impl.cc components, which are fundamental elements in Chrome's multi-process architecture designed to isolate renderer processes from the main browser process. The flaw occurs when the browser fails to verify that IPC messages are being sent to legitimate RenderFrame or RenderWidget instances, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's trust model.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leverages the inherent design of Chrome's multi-process architecture where renderer processes operate in separate memory spaces from the main browser process. When a renderer process receives an IPC message, Chrome should validate that the intended recipient is a legitimate rendering component. However, in affected versions, this validation mechanism was bypassed, allowing attackers to send crafted IPC messages to invalid memory locations. This weakness manifests as invalid pointer dereferences that cause the browser application to crash, resulting in a denial of service condition that can be repeatedly exploited to keep the browser from functioning properly.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the flaw could potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the specific context in which the exploit occurs. Attackers with access to a renderer process, typically through a compromised website or malicious content delivery, can leverage this vulnerability to crash the browser or potentially execute arbitrary code within the renderer process context. This aligns with the CWE-119 weakness category, which encompasses memory safety issues related to improper handling of pointers and memory access violations. The vulnerability particularly affects the ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, as it can be exploited through web-based attacks that manipulate JavaScript execution contexts within renderer processes.
The exploitation pathway demonstrates how attackers can leverage the browser's legitimate IPC mechanisms to target specific memory locations within the renderer process, bypassing normal security boundaries. This represents a classic case of insufficient input validation where the system assumes that legitimate processes will only send messages to valid recipients without proper verification. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where Chrome is extensively used, as it could be exploited to disrupt productivity through repeated browser crashes or potentially as a stepping stone for more advanced attacks. Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability and implementing additional security measures such as sandboxing controls and monitoring for unusual IPC message patterns to prevent exploitation. The fix implemented in Chrome version 53.0.2785.113 involved strengthening the validation logic in the IPC message handling components to ensure that all recipients are properly authenticated before processing messages, thereby closing the gap that attackers could exploit to manipulate the browser's rendering subsystem.