CVE-2022-4925 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/29/2023
Insufficient validation of untrusted input in QUIC in Google Chrome prior to 97.0.4692.71 allowed a remote attacker to perform header splitting via malicious network traffic. (Chromium security severity: Low)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/23/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4925 represents a critical flaw in the QUIC protocol implementation within Google Chrome browsers prior to version 97.0.4692.71. This issue stems from insufficient validation of untrusted input during QUIC packet processing, creating a pathway for remote attackers to manipulate network headers through maliciously crafted traffic. The QUIC protocol, designed to improve web performance by reducing connection latency and providing secure communication, becomes compromised when input validation mechanisms fail to properly sanitize incoming data streams. This weakness specifically affects the header processing component of QUIC, where unvalidated data can be interpreted as legitimate header information, leading to potential header manipulation.
The technical flaw manifests when Chrome processes QUIC packets containing maliciously crafted headers that bypass normal validation checks. Under normal circumstances, QUIC headers should be strictly validated to ensure they conform to expected formats and do not contain unexpected data sequences that could alter the interpretation of subsequent packet data. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to inject data that appears as legitimate header information but actually contains embedded malicious content. This creates a scenario where header splitting occurs, enabling attackers to inject additional headers or modify existing ones in ways that could influence how the browser processes subsequent network traffic.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to web application security and user privacy. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform header splitting attacks that may lead to various security implications including cache poisoning, session hijacking, or content injection attacks. The low severity classification according to Chromium security guidelines does not diminish the potential impact, as header splitting in network protocols can serve as a foundation for more sophisticated attacks. The vulnerability affects users of affected Chrome versions when they access web resources that communicate over QUIC, particularly those that rely on HTTP/3 or other protocols built on QUIC. The attack surface expands when considering that QUIC is increasingly adopted by modern web services and applications, making this vulnerability relevant across a broad spectrum of internet-connected systems.
The security implications extend beyond simple header manipulation to encompass potential data integrity breaches and service disruption. When header splitting occurs, it can cause browsers to misinterpret network traffic, potentially leading to incorrect routing decisions or malformed requests being sent to web servers. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses insufficient input validation, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome installations to prevent exploitation, while network administrators should monitor for unusual traffic patterns that might indicate attempted exploitation. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify malformed QUIC traffic, and ensuring that web applications properly validate all received headers regardless of transport protocol used. The vulnerability underscores the importance of robust input validation in protocol implementations and highlights the need for continuous security auditing of network stack components.