CVE-2023-4763 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 09/06/2023
Use after free in Networks in Google Chrome prior to 116.0.5845.179 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 • 10/01/2023
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in Google Chrome's network handling components that could enable remote code execution through malicious web pages. The flaw exists in the browser's memory management system where freed memory blocks are still being accessed after the original allocation has been released, creating a exploitable condition that adversaries can leverage to corrupt heap memory structures. Such vulnerabilities fall under the common weakness enumeration CWE-416 which specifically addresses use-after-free errors where program memory is accessed after it has been freed, making it a prime target for memory corruption attacks that can lead to arbitrary code execution.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within Chrome's network stack where memory allocated for network operations is freed but subsequent code paths still reference the freed memory locations. This creates a window of opportunity for attackers to manipulate the heap layout and inject malicious code that can be executed in the browser context. The Chromium security severity rating of high indicates the vulnerability's potential for exploitation in real-world scenarios, particularly given the widespread use of Chrome as a web browser. Attackers can craft specially designed HTML pages that trigger the vulnerable code path, causing the browser to free memory blocks while still maintaining references to them, leading to heap corruption that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or complete system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple browser exploitation as it represents a fundamental memory safety issue that can affect all users running affected Chrome versions. The remote exploitation capability means users do not need to perform any special actions beyond visiting a malicious website, making this a particularly dangerous vulnerability for widespread deployment. The heap corruption can potentially be used to bypass modern security mitigations such as address space layout randomization and data execution prevention, as the attacker can manipulate the freed memory blocks to execute malicious code within the browser process. This vulnerability aligns with the attack pattern described in the attack tree framework where adversaries can leverage memory corruption flaws to achieve code execution and privilege escalation.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of all affected Chrome installations to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without user interaction. The recommended mitigation strategy includes updating to Chrome version 116.0.5845.179 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes to prevent the use-after-free condition. Additionally, browser security hardening measures such as enabling sandboxing, disabling unnecessary browser features, and implementing web application firewalls can provide additional defense layers. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, as the vulnerability may be actively exploited in the wild. The incident response plan should include procedures for rapid deployment of patches across enterprise environments and monitoring for signs of compromise, given the high severity rating and potential for automated exploitation.