CVE-2023-2724 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 05/16/2023
Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 113.0.5672.126 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2023
This vulnerability represents a critical type confusion flaw within the V8 JavaScript engine that powers Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers. The issue stems from improper handling of object types during runtime execution, creating conditions where the engine incorrectly interprets data structures, leading to memory corruption vulnerabilities. Such type confusion vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they can be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely through malicious web pages. The vulnerability affects versions prior to Chrome 113.0.5672.126 and has been classified with a high severity rating by the Chromium security team, indicating significant risk to user systems.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in V8's object type handling mechanisms where the JavaScript engine fails to properly validate type information during object operations. When processing crafted HTML content containing malicious JavaScript, the engine may incorrectly assume an object is of one type while it actually contains data of another type. This misclassification can lead to heap corruption when the engine attempts to perform operations on the incorrectly typed data. The flaw typically manifests during dynamic type operations, property access, or method invocation on objects where type information has been manipulated or corrupted through malicious input. This type confusion creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory layout and potentially execute malicious code with the privileges of the browser process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it can enable attackers to bypass modern security mitigations including address space layout randomization and data execution prevention mechanisms. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform privilege escalation attacks, steal sensitive user data, or establish persistent backdoors on compromised systems. The remote exploitation capability makes this particularly dangerous in real-world scenarios where users may encounter malicious web content through phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or drive-by downloads. The vulnerability's exploitation potential aligns with attack patterns documented in the attack tree framework, where type confusion flaws are commonly used as initial access vectors before escalating to full system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to the recommended secure build 113.0.5672.126 or later. Organizations should implement comprehensive browser security policies including automatic updates, sandboxing configurations, and strict content security policies to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. Additional protective measures include network-based filtering to block known malicious domains, browser hardening through configuration changes, and regular security assessments of web applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust type checking mechanisms in runtime environments and aligns with common CWE classifications for type confusion issues. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, while maintaining awareness of related attack patterns in the ATT&CK framework that leverage similar memory corruption vulnerabilities for initial compromise and privilege escalation.