CVE-2022-0290 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 02/14/2022
Use after free in Site isolation in Google Chrome prior to 97.0.4692.99 allowed a remote attacker to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition within google chrome's site isolation mechanism that could potentially enable remote code execution and sandbox escape. The flaw existed in chrome versions prior to 97.0.4692.99 and specifically targeted the site isolation feature designed to isolate web pages from each other to prevent cross-site attacks. A remote attacker could craft a malicious html page that would trigger this use-after-free condition when chrome attempted to manage memory for isolated site components. The technical implementation involves improper memory management where freed memory regions were still being accessed or referenced by subsequent operations within the site isolation framework.
The vulnerability stems from inadequate memory deallocation handling within chrome's rendering engine and process isolation architecture. When chrome processes web content from different origins, it creates separate processes to maintain security boundaries. However, a race condition or improper reference counting in the memory management system allowed attackers to manipulate freed memory locations that should have been inaccessible. This particular flaw maps directly to cwe-416 use after free vulnerability classification and represents a sophisticated attack vector against chrome's security model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution to include complete sandbox escape capabilities. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to bypass chrome's security boundaries and potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the chrome process. This represents a significant escalation from typical web-based attacks to system-level compromise, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to access sensitive user data or perform further malicious activities on the compromised system. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that site isolation is a core security feature designed to protect against exactly such cross-site attacks.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate chrome updates to version 97.0.4692.99 or later where the memory management issues have been addressed through proper reference counting and memory deallocation procedures. Organizations should also implement network-level protections including web application firewalls and content filtering systems that can detect and block suspicious html content. Additionally, browser hardening measures such as disabling unnecessary plugins, implementing strict content security policies, and maintaining regular security updates across all chrome installations can reduce the attack surface. From an att&ck framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques involving privilege escalation and sandbox evasion through memory corruption attacks that target browser security mechanisms.