CVE-2018-6040 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Insufficient policy enforcement in Blink in Google Chrome prior to 64.0.3282.119 allowed a remote attacker to potentially bypass content security policy via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6040 represents a critical weakness in Google Chrome's Blink rendering engine that existed prior to version 64.0.3282.119. This issue stems from inadequate policy enforcement mechanisms within the browser's core rendering component, creating a potential pathway for remote attackers to circumvent essential security controls. The flaw specifically targets the content security policy (CSP) implementation, which serves as a fundamental web security measure designed to prevent various types of code injection attacks including cross-site scripting and data injection attempts.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient validation and enforcement of security policies within Blink's processing pipeline. When a user visits a maliciously crafted HTML page, the vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass the browser's intended security boundaries that should normally prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources or execution of malicious code. This weakness operates at the intersection of browser security architecture and web content handling, where the rendering engine fails to properly enforce the security policies that should govern how content is processed and displayed.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risk to users who may inadvertently encounter malicious web content. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting HTML pages that appear legitimate but contain malicious elements designed to bypass CSP protections. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it potentially enables more sophisticated attacks including credential theft, session hijacking, and execution of arbitrary code within the browser context. The vulnerability's remote nature means that users do not need to perform any special actions beyond visiting a compromised website for exploitation to occur.
The security implications of CVE-2018-6040 align with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures in web applications, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage. This vulnerability demonstrates how browser security mechanisms can be circumvented through insufficient policy enforcement, creating opportunities for attackers to execute malicious payloads that would otherwise be blocked by standard security controls. The flaw essentially undermines the browser's ability to enforce security boundaries that are critical for protecting users from various web-based threats.
Organizations and users should prioritize immediate remediation by updating to Chrome version 64.0.3282.119 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this policy enforcement weakness. Additionally, implementing additional security measures such as CSP headers, regular security audits of web applications, and user education about suspicious website behavior can help mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability. The incident underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date browser software and demonstrates how seemingly minor policy enforcement gaps can create significant security exposure in web browsing environments.