CVE-2023-4430: Unraveling the Use-after-free Vulnerability in Vulkan within Google Chrome and its Potential Exploitation

Google Chrome, the world's leading web browser, continually faces security threats that could compromise user data and system integrity. One such vulnerability discovered in Google Chrome versions prior to 116..5845.110 is the use-after-free issue in the Vulkan component. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) have assigned the ID 'CVE-2023-4430' to this vulnerability, and Chromium, the open-source project behind Chrome, has marked its severity as 'High.' In this post, we will delve into the details of this vulnerability, analyze the code snippet that exposes its existence, and explore a possible exploit scenario involving a crafted HTML page.

Vulnerability Overview

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to use an object or memory after it has been freed, leading to crashes, information leaks, or worse, remote code execution. In this particular case, the CVE-2023-4430 vulnerability resides within the Vulkan component of Chrome. Vulkan is a modern, low-overhead graphics API that serves as a powerful alternative to OpenGL, often employed in high-performance gaming and 3D applications.

A remote attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability by inducing heap corruption through a carefully crafted HTML page. Heap corruption occurs when memory regions outside the allocated boundaries of a buffer are overwritten, leading to crashes and potential execution of arbitrary code.

Code Snippet Analysis

Upon analyzing the root cause of CVE-2023-4430, we will examine a simplified code snippet that demonstrates the use-after-free scenario in the Vulkan component:

class VulkanObject {
public:
 // ...
};

class Renderer {
public:
  // ..
  void freeVulkanObject(VulkanObject* vulkanObject) {
    // Free the Vulkan object and remove it from the list of active objects.
    delete vulkanObject;
    activeVulkanObjects.remove(vulkanObject);
  }

private:
  // ..
  std::list<VulkanObject*> activeVulkanObjects;
};

Renderer renderer;

VulkanObject* createAndUseVulkanObject() {
  VulkanObject* vulkanObject = new VulkanObject(/* ... */);
  renderer.freeVulkanObject(vulkanObject);
  // Vulnerable: Use of vulkanObject after it was freed.
  vulkanObject->performOperation();
  return vulkanObject;
}

Upon creating a VulkanObject instance, the Renderer::freeVulkanObject() method is called to free the object and remove it from the list of active objects. However, the program continues to use the vulkanObject pointer and subsequently calls the performOperation() method, triggering the use-after-free vulnerability.

Exploit Details and Prevention

A remote attacker can potentially exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious HTML page designed to take advantage of the use-after-free issue in Chrome's Vulkan component. By triggering heap corruption, the attacker could access sensitive information, crash the browser, or even execute arbitrary code on the victim's computer.

To mitigate this vulnerability, users must update their Google Chrome browser to version 116..5845.110 or later. Google has issued a security update to address this high-severity vulnerability, and it is crucial to apply this update as soon as possible to stay protected.

You may download the latest version of Chrome by visiting the official website: https://www.google.com/chrome/

Original References

1. Chromium Security Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_9.html
2. CVE-2023-4430 Details: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-4430

Conclusion

In conclusion, CVE-2023-4430 represents a serious vulnerability in Google Chrome's Vulkan component that could lead to significant security breaches if left unaddressed. By staying vigilant and updating your browser to the latest version, you can protect yourself and your data from potential exploits and maintain a secure browsing environment.

Timeline

Published on: 08/23/2023 00:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 08/26/2023 16:15:00 UTC