CVE-2025-3620 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 04/17/2025
Use after free in USB in Google Chrome prior to 135.0.7049.95 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 • 04/17/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in the USB subsystem of Google Chrome that could be exploited by remote attackers to achieve heap corruption through maliciously crafted web pages. The flaw exists within the browser's handling of USB device interactions and demonstrates a fundamental memory management error where freed memory locations are still being accessed or referenced by subsequent operations. Such vulnerabilities typically arise from improper object lifecycle management where references to objects are not properly invalidated after their memory has been released back to the system heap.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common software security weaknesses identified in the CWE database under category CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions. When Chrome processes USB-related operations from web content, it maintains references to objects that represent USB device connections or associated data structures. If these objects are freed during normal operation but subsequent code paths attempt to access them, the system can experience unpredictable behavior including memory corruption. This particular flaw occurs in the Chromium rendering engine's USB implementation where the browser fails to properly track object lifecycles when handling asynchronous USB operations that may complete after the containing context has been destroyed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory corruption as it provides potential attack vectors for remote code execution within the browser sandbox. An attacker could craft a malicious HTML page that triggers USB enumeration and then immediately frees associated objects while maintaining references to them. This scenario creates an opportunity for heap spraying attacks or controlled memory corruption that could be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Chrome process. The high security severity rating reflects the potential for escalation from a simple web browsing interaction to full system compromise, particularly given that modern browsers operate with extensive access to user data and system resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to 135.0.7049.95 or later, which implements proper object lifecycle management and reference validation in the USB subsystem. Organizations should prioritize deployment of these security updates across all managed browsers while also implementing network-based protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block known malicious patterns associated with USB-related exploits. Additional defensive measures include enabling Chrome's built-in security features like site isolation, sandboxing, and automatic updates to reduce the attack surface and ensure timely remediation of similar vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, highlighting how such memory corruption flaws can serve as initial access vectors for broader exploitation campaigns targeting browser-based attack surfaces.