CVE-2021-24100 in Edge
Summary
by MITRE • 02/26/2021
Microsoft Edge for Android Information Disclosure Vulnerability
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2021
This vulnerability resides in Microsoft Edge for Android browsers where improper handling of certain web page elements leads to information disclosure risks. The flaw manifests when the browser processes specific HTML content or JavaScript interactions that trigger unintended data exposure through memory access patterns or rendering artifacts. Attackers can potentially exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages that leverage the browser's rendering engine to extract sensitive information from memory locations that should remain protected.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within Edge's Android implementation. When processing certain web content, particularly elements involving complex DOM manipulation or cross-origin resource handling, the browser fails to properly isolate memory segments containing potentially sensitive data. This issue aligns with CWE-200 which addresses improper information disclosure vulnerabilities in software systems. The vulnerability typically occurs during the parsing and rendering phases where the browser's JavaScript engine interacts with native components that may expose internal state information.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information leakage to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks within the Android application sandbox environment. An attacker could leverage this weakness to extract browsing history, cached credentials, or other sensitive user data that might be stored in memory during normal browser operations. The attack surface is particularly concerning given Edge's extensive use across enterprise environments where users may access sensitive corporate resources. This vulnerability can be exploited through various delivery mechanisms including malicious websites, phishing campaigns, or compromised web applications that specifically target the Android Edge browser.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on comprehensive input sanitization and memory isolation improvements within the browser engine. Microsoft has addressed this issue through targeted patches that enhance validation of incoming HTML content and improve memory management during rendering operations. Organizations should implement immediate patch deployment strategies across all affected Edge for Android installations while maintaining network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary JavaScript features and implementing strict content security policies can reduce the attack surface. The remediation efforts align with ATT&CK technique T1059 which covers abuse of application scripting languages through browser-based attacks that leverage information disclosure vulnerabilities for further compromise.