CVE-2022-1127 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/23/2022
Use after free in QR Code Generator in Google Chrome prior to 100.0.4896.60 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific user interaction to potentially exploit heap corruption via user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition within the QR code generator functionality of google chrome versions prior to 100.0.4896.60. The flaw occurs when the browser processes qr code generation requests and subsequently frees memory associated with qr code data structures without proper validation of subsequent references. This memory management error creates an opportunity for remote attackers to manipulate heap memory corruption through carefully crafted user interaction scenarios. The vulnerability is classified as a use-after-free issue under common weakness enumeration CWE-416 and falls within the attack pattern category of heap corruption exploitation. The security implications are significant as attackers can potentially execute arbitrary code by leveraging the freed memory locations to overwrite critical data structures or function pointers. The attack vector requires user interaction, meaning a victim must be convinced to engage with malicious content that triggers the qr code generation process. This typically occurs through phishing attacks, malicious websites, or compromised web applications that present qr code generation interfaces. When the vulnerable chrome version processes the malicious input, the freed memory can be reallocated and manipulated by the attacker to redirect execution flow or corrupt memory in ways that allow code execution. The exploitation process often involves precise timing and memory layout manipulation to ensure that freed memory chunks are reused in predictable ways. The impact extends beyond simple code execution as this vulnerability can potentially lead to full system compromise, especially when combined with other exploitation techniques or when the browser is running with elevated privileges. Organizations using affected chrome versions face heightened risk of targeted attacks, particularly in environments where users frequently interact with web content that may contain malicious qr code generation requests. The vulnerability demonstrates the complexity of modern browser security where seemingly innocuous features like qr code generation can become attack vectors when memory management is improperly handled. This issue aligns with attack techniques documented in the attack tree framework where memory corruption vulnerabilities serve as foundational elements for more sophisticated exploitation chains. The remediation requires immediate upgrade to chrome version 100.0.4896.60 or later, which includes proper memory management fixes and additional safeguards against use-after-free conditions in the qr code generation module. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and user education to reduce successful social engineering campaigns targeting this vulnerability. The fix addresses the root cause by ensuring proper reference counting and memory deallocation procedures in the qr code generation component, preventing the reuse of freed memory chunks in ways that could be exploited by remote attackers.