CVE-2019-13718 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Insufficient data validation in Omnibox in Google Chrome prior to 78.0.3904.70 allowed a remote attacker to perform domain spoofing via IDN homographs via a crafted domain name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/27/2024
The vulnerability CVE-2019-13718 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome's Omnibox functionality that existed prior to version 78.0.3904.70. This issue stems from insufficient data validation mechanisms that fail to properly handle internationalized domain names, creating a pathway for sophisticated domain spoofing attacks. The vulnerability specifically targets the browser's address bar parsing and rendering logic, where it inadequately processes internationalized domain name homographs that exploit visual similarities between characters from different writing systems.
The technical flaw manifests through the browser's handling of Unicode characters in domain names, particularly those that utilize different character sets to create visually identical or nearly identical representations. Attackers can craft malicious domain names using homograph characters from various scripts such as Latin, Cyrillic, or other character sets that appear identical or nearly identical to legitimate domains. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-1004 category of Weaknesses in Input Handling, specifically related to insufficient validation of internationalized domain names and character encoding. The flaw enables attackers to create deceptive URLs that visually mimic trusted domains, exploiting the human tendency to overlook subtle visual differences in character rendering.
Operationally, this vulnerability poses significant risks to users who may be tricked into visiting malicious websites by visually identical domain names. The attack vector requires a remote attacker to craft a domain name that appears legitimate but contains homograph characters that render identically or nearly identically to well-known domains. Users who rely on visual inspection of URLs for security verification become susceptible to phishing attacks, as the browser's Omnibox fails to adequately warn users about potentially deceptive domain names. This weakness directly impacts the browser's security model by undermining the trust relationship between users and the visual URL representation, potentially leading to credential theft, malware delivery, or financial fraud.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability involves upgrading to Google Chrome version 78.0.3904.70 or later, which implements enhanced validation mechanisms for internationalized domain names. The fix incorporates stricter parsing of Unicode domain names and improved detection of homograph characters that could be used for spoofing purposes. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including user education about URL verification, deployment of security tooling that can detect suspicious domain patterns, and network-level monitoring for known malicious domains. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques related to credential access and social engineering, specifically T1566.001 for credential access through phishing and T1059.001 for remote code execution through malicious websites. Network administrators should consider implementing DNS-based security solutions and browser security extensions that provide additional protection against homograph-based attacks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper internationalization handling in security-critical applications and demonstrates how seemingly innocuous character encoding issues can create significant security risks in user-facing interfaces.