CVE-2017-5040 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
V8 in Google Chrome prior to 57.0.2987.98 for Mac, Windows, and Linux and 57.0.2987.108 for Android was missing a neutering check, which allowed a remote attacker to read values in memory via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/02/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-5040 represents a critical memory safety issue within the V8 JavaScript engine that powers Google Chrome browsers across multiple platforms. This flaw existed in Chrome versions prior to 57.0.2987.98 for Mac, Windows, and Linux systems, and 57.0.2987.108 for Android devices, creating a significant attack surface for remote threat actors. The vulnerability stems from the absence of proper neutering checks within the engine's memory management mechanisms, which are essential for preventing unauthorized memory access patterns.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the V8 engine's handling of JavaScript objects and their underlying memory representations. When a crafted HTML page is loaded in the vulnerable browser, the missing neutering check allows attackers to exploit memory layout information and potentially access sensitive data that should remain protected. This memory disclosure occurs through the engine's object handling mechanisms where objects may retain references to memory locations even after they should have been cleared or deallocated. The flaw specifically impacts how the engine manages object lifecycles and memory cleanup operations, creating opportunities for attackers to reconstruct memory contents through carefully constructed JavaScript code sequences.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote code execution capabilities that could allow attackers to extract arbitrary memory values from the browser process, potentially including sensitive information such as cryptographic keys, user credentials, or other confidential data stored in memory. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it provides attackers with the foundation for more sophisticated attacks including privilege escalation and full system compromise. The vulnerability affects all supported platforms where Chrome operates, making it particularly dangerous as attackers can target users across different operating systems and device types without requiring platform-specific exploits. This cross-platform nature increases the attack surface significantly and makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors seeking maximum impact with minimal effort.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes "Out-of-Bounds Read" conditions, and represents a memory safety issue that allows unauthorized data access. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access through memory corruption and information gathering. The exploitation process typically involves crafting malicious HTML content that triggers the memory access patterns, requiring no user interaction beyond visiting the malicious site. Organizations should immediately update to patched versions of Chrome to remediate this vulnerability, as the window for exploitation remains open for unpatched systems. Additional mitigations include implementing browser security policies, enabling sandboxing features, and monitoring for suspicious web traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in modern browser engines and highlights the need for continuous security auditing of core components that handle untrusted input.