CVE-2020-6572 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 01/15/2021
Use after free in Media in Google Chrome prior to 81.0.4044.92 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-6572 represents a critical use-after-free flaw within the media handling components of Google Chrome browser versions prior to 81.0.4044.92. This issue stems from improper memory management during the processing of media elements within web pages, creating a scenario where freed memory locations could be accessed and manipulated by malicious actors. The vulnerability specifically affects the browser's media subsystem which handles various multimedia formats and processing operations, making it a prime target for exploitation in remote code execution attacks. The flaw manifests when Chrome processes specially crafted HTML pages containing malicious media elements that trigger the use-after-free condition in memory management routines.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the exploitation of memory corruption patterns within Chrome's media processing pipeline where objects are freed from memory but references to those objects persist and are subsequently accessed. This memory management error creates a window of opportunity for attackers to manipulate the freed memory locations, potentially allowing them to overwrite critical data structures or inject malicious code into the browser's memory space. The use-after-free condition typically occurs when the browser's media engine fails to properly track object lifecycles during complex media processing operations, particularly when handling nested or embedded media elements. This flaw aligns with CWE-416 which specifically addresses the use of freed memory conditions in software applications.
Operationally, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to users as it enables remote code execution through web-based attacks without requiring any user interaction beyond visiting a malicious webpage. Attackers can craft HTML pages containing specially designed media elements that trigger the memory corruption when processed by the vulnerable Chrome version. The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that modern browsers automatically process media content without user intervention, making it possible for users to be compromised simply by navigating to a malicious site. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can leverage this vulnerability through various delivery mechanisms including compromised websites, phishing campaigns, or malicious advertisements.
The impact of CVE-2020-6572 extends beyond immediate code execution capabilities to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors including privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. Once successfully exploited, attackers could gain full control over the victim's browser session and potentially the underlying operating system, depending on the execution environment and user privileges. This vulnerability would likely map to several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and script interpreter execution, T1071 for application layer protocol usage, and T1133 for external remote services. The browser-based nature of this exploit means that traditional network-based security controls may not provide adequate protection, requiring more comprehensive endpoint security measures and browser hardening configurations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate remediation through browser updates to versions 81.0.4044.92 or later where the memory management issues have been addressed. Organizations should implement automated patch management systems to ensure rapid deployment of security updates across all affected systems. Additional defensive measures include browser hardening configurations that restrict media processing capabilities, implementation of content security policies that limit media source origins, and deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious media content patterns. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual browser behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments should verify that all systems have been properly updated and hardened against this class of vulnerability.