The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has recently identified a security issue in Google Chrome, specifically within the browser's canvas feature. This vulnerability, known as CVE-2024-2627, has been assigned a medium severity status, as it enables an attacker to exploit heap corruption via a maliciously crafted HTML page. This article aims to provide an overview of this vulnerability, discuss potential attack scenarios, and explore mitigations for users and developers.

Background and Technical Details

CVE-2024-2627 is a use-after-free vulnerability that affects Google Chrome prior to version 123..6312.58. Use-after-free refers to a class of memory corruption issues that occur when a program continues to use a pointer after it has been freed. In this specific instance, a remote attacker can take advantage of this by crafting an HTML page and potentially triggering heap corruption within Google Chrome's canvas feature.

According to the Chromium bug report, this vulnerability affects Google Chrome versions prior to 123..6312.58. A patch has been issued in this newer version, so updating your browser is highly recommended to avoid this security issue.

Exploit Details

This vulnerability can be exploited if a remote attacker successfully tricks a user into visiting a maliciously crafted HTML page. This may be achieved via various means such as phishing scams, malvertising, or social engineering attacks.

Once the unsuspecting victim visits the malicious page, the attacker's crafted HTML code will interact with the browser's canvas feature and trigger heap corruption. The attacker can then manipulate this corrupted heap, potentially compromising the user's system.

An example of a code snippet that exploits CVE-2024-2627 might look like the following (for demonstration purposes only):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script>
  function triggerVulnerability() {
    var canvas = document.getElementById('vulnerableCanvas');
    var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
    ctx.fillStyle = 'rgba(255, , )';
    ctx.clearRect(, , canvas.width, canvas.height);
    ctx.fillRect(, , 100, 100);
    // The following line triggers the use-after-free vulnerability
    delete ctx;
    // At this point, further operations on the ctx object can lead to heap corruption
  }
  </script>
</head>
<body onload="triggerVulnerability();">
  <canvas id="vulnerableCanvas" width="300" height="150"></canvas>
</body>
</html>

Mitigation

In order to protect yourself from CVE-2024-2627, it is critical to keep your Google Chrome browser up-to-date. Update your browser to version 123..6312.58 or later, as patches addressing this issue have been implemented in this version. You can update your browser by navigating to chrome://settings/help or by clicking on the menu button in the top right corner, selecting "Help," and finally selecting "About Google Chrome."

Conclusion

While CVE-2024-2627 is classified as a medium-severity vulnerability, it still poses a potential risk to Google Chrome users. With attackers continuously searching for vulnerabilities to exploit, it's crucial to maintain awareness and vigilance against such threats. Keep your browser updated and take precautionary measures when browsing the web, particularly when clicking on links in emails or engaging with unfamiliar websites.

Further Reading

1. Google Chrome Releases Blog
2. Chromium Security Vulnerabilities
3. NIST - CVE-2024-2627

Timeline

Published on: 03/20/2024 17:15:07 UTC
Last modified on: 04/01/2024 15:22:56 UTC