CVE-2018-17457 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
An object lifecycle issue in Blink could lead to a use after free in WebAudio in Google Chrome prior to 69.0.3497.81 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-17457 represents a critical object lifecycle flaw within Blink, the web rendering engine that powers Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. This issue specifically affects the WebAudio component, which handles audio processing and manipulation within web applications. The vulnerability arises from improper management of object references during the audio processing pipeline, creating conditions where memory objects may be prematurely deallocated while still being referenced by active code paths. The flaw manifests as a use-after-free condition, a common class of memory safety vulnerability that occurs when a program continues to access memory after it has been freed, potentially leading to unpredictable behavior including code execution.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it squarely within the CWE-416 category of Use After Free conditions, which are classified as high-risk memory safety issues in the Common Weakness Enumeration taxonomy. The vulnerability operates through a sophisticated attack vector that leverages the complex interaction between Blink's rendering engine and WebAudio's JavaScript API. When a malicious web page triggers specific audio processing sequences, the underlying object management system fails to properly track object lifecycles, allowing an attacker to manipulate memory pointers and potentially redirect execution flow. This exploitation requires the attacker to craft a carefully constructed HTML page that can trigger the specific code path leading to the memory corruption, making it particularly challenging to detect and prevent through traditional security measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple browser exploitation, as it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code within the browser's sandboxed environment with the privileges of the web browser itself. This represents a significant escalation from typical web-based attacks, as the attacker gains the ability to perform actions that would normally be restricted within the browser's security model. The sandbox isolation that normally protects users from malicious code execution becomes ineffective when such a fundamental memory management flaw exists within the browser's core components. This vulnerability affects all versions of Google Chrome prior to 69.0.3497.81, representing a substantial attack surface that could potentially be exploited across millions of vulnerable systems worldwide.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-17457 primarily focus on immediate patching and system updates to ensure all affected Chrome installations are upgraded to version 69.0.3497.81 or later. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management processes to ensure rapid deployment of security updates across all systems. Additionally, browser hardening measures such as enabling sandboxing features, restricting audio processing capabilities through content security policies, and implementing network-based protections can provide additional layers of defense. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of memory safety in modern web browsers and highlights the need for continuous security auditing of core components. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving code injection and privilege escalation, specifically targeting the browser's rendering engine and audio processing subsystems. Security professionals should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious audio processing patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, as the attack surface for such vulnerabilities often extends beyond the initial exploitation phase into persistent threat operations.