CVE-2022-0797 is a critical vulnerability discovered in Google Chrome prior to version 99..4844.51. It involves an out of bounds memory access in Mojo, a lightweight, high-performance inter-process communication (IPC) library used in Chrome. This vulnerability has the potential to allow a remote attacker to execute malicious code via a crafted HTML page. In this post, we'll dive into the details of this vulnerability, discuss how it can be exploited, and provide code snippets to help you understand the exploitation process. We'll also provide links to original references for further reading.

Vulnerability Details

The central issue in this vulnerability is an out of bounds memory write, which occurs when a program writes data outside the boundaries of a pre-allocated memory buffer. This can cause data corruption, crashes, or even code execution if properly exploited by an attacker. In the case of CVE-2022-0797, the vulnerability was found in Google's Mojo IPC library, which is heavily used throughout the Chrome web browser for inter-process communication.

Exploitation

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a malicious HTML page and enticing a user to visit it. Once loaded in a vulnerable version of Chrome, the HTML page could leverage the vulnerability to create an out of bounds memory write, potentially leading to code execution.

Take a look at the following code snippet, which demonstrates how an attacker might create a crafted HTML page that triggers the vulnerability:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script>
    function trigger_vuln() {
      // Code to trigger the out of bounds memory write in Mojo
      // ...
    }
  </script>
</head>
<body>
  <p>
    Click the button below to trigger the vulnerability.
  </p>
  <button onclick="trigger_vuln()">
    Trigger Vulnerability
  </button>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the trigger_vuln function contains the code necessary to exploit the vulnerability and perform the out of bounds memory write in Mojo. Once the user clicks the "Trigger Vulnerability" button, the attack is initiated.

Mitigation

To protect against this vulnerability, users are strongly recommended to update their Google Chrome browser to version 99..4844.51 or later. This update contains a patch that addresses the out of bounds memory access issue in Mojo. You can obtain the latest version of Chrome from the official download page: https://www.google.com/chrome/

The following are the original references detailing the vulnerability

1. Google Chrome Releases - Stable Channel Update for Desktop
2. Chromium Issue Tracker - CVE-2022-0797 Entry

Conclusion

CVE-2022-0797 demonstrates the importance of keeping your software up-to-date and using secure coding practices to prevent vulnerabilities that can be exploited by remote attackers. It's crucial to remain vigilant and install security updates as soon as they become available to limit your exposure to potential security threats. Keep an eye on Chrome's release notes and follow best practices for secure web browsing to keep yourself safe online.

Timeline

Published on: 04/05/2022 01:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 08/15/2022 11:15:00 UTC