CVE-2022-4180 is a critical "use after free" vulnerability found in the Mojo inter-process communication (IPC) system of Google Chrome. Google has assigned this vulnerability a severity rating of "High." An attacker who can convince a user to install a malicious Chrome extension can potentially exploit heap corruption in Chrome versions prior to 108..5359.71, leading to a compromise of the user's browser.

A simplified representation of the vulnerable code in Chrome's Mojo IPC system is as follows

class MojoConnection {
public:
  // ...
  void HandleMessage(Message* message) {
    if (message->IsValid()) {
      DispatchMessage(message);
    }
    delete message;
  }
private:
  // ....
};

In the above code snippet, the MojoConnection class handles the incoming messages from the IPC system. The HandleMessage function checks if the received message is valid and dispatches it for further processing if it is. The problem here lies in the use of delete message; after dispatching the valid message. If, during the processing of the DispatchMessage(message); call, the message object is deleted due to any reason, it leads to a use after free scenario, as the delete message; call will reference an already deleted object.

Exploiting CVE-2022-4180

To exploit the use after free vulnerability in Google Chrome, an attacker would create a malicious Chrome extension that sends specifically crafted IPC messages to exploit the heap corruption. This malicious extension would force the browser to process the invalid message object, causing unexpected behavior and potentially compromising the user's security.

Detection and Mitigation

To detect the presence of this vulnerability, users and administrators can check the installed version of Google Chrome. If Chrome is running a version prior to 108..5359.71, the system is considered vulnerable. To mitigate this vulnerability, users should update their Google Chrome to the latest version (108..5359.71 or later) as soon as possible.

- NVD - CVE-2022-4180
- Chromium Bug Tracker - Issue 1290783
- Google Chrome Release Blog - Stable Channel Update for Desktop

In conclusion, CVE-2022-4180 is a significant security vulnerability in the Mojo IPC system of Google Chrome. This vulnerability can be exploited by attackers if users can be tricked into installing a malicious Chrome extension. By exploiting this vulnerability, attackers can potentially compromise user security and privacy. To protect against this vulnerability, users should update their Chrome browser to version 108..5359.71 or later to ensure that their browsing experience remains safe and secure.

Timeline

Published on: 11/30/2022 00:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 05/03/2023 12:16:00 UTC