CVE-2022-4135: Google Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2022-4135 Overview

CVE-2022-4135 is a critical heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the GPU component of Google Chrome prior to version 107.0.5304.121. This vulnerability allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page. The vulnerability affects not only Google Chrome but also Chromium-based browsers including Microsoft Edge.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild and is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to escape Chrome's sandbox, potentially gaining full control over the victim's system.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome prior to version 107.0.5304.121
• Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based versions prior to corresponding patch)
• Microsoft Edge Chromium (affected versions prior to security update)

Discovery Timeline

• 2022-11-25 - CVE-2022-4135 published to NVD
• 2025-10-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2022-4135

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), specifically manifesting as a heap buffer overflow in Chrome's GPU process. The GPU component handles intensive graphics rendering operations and communicates with the renderer process through a specialized IPC mechanism. When certain malformed data is passed from a compromised renderer to the GPU process, it triggers an out-of-bounds write condition in heap memory.

The critical aspect of this vulnerability is that it enables sandbox escape. Chrome's multi-process architecture isolates the renderer (which processes untrusted web content) in a restricted sandbox. However, the GPU process operates with elevated privileges outside this sandbox to perform hardware-accelerated graphics operations. By exploiting this heap overflow in the GPU process, an attacker who has already compromised the renderer can break out of the sandbox entirely.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2022-4135 lies in improper bounds checking within the GPU process when handling data from the renderer process. The heap buffer overflow occurs when the GPU component allocates a memory buffer of insufficient size and subsequently writes data beyond the allocated boundary. This type of memory corruption vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution when attackers carefully craft input to overwrite critical heap metadata or function pointers.

Attack Vector

The attack requires user interaction—specifically, navigating to a malicious web page containing crafted HTML content. The attack chain involves two stages:

1. Initial Compromise: The attacker must first compromise the renderer process (potentially through a separate vulnerability)
2. Sandbox Escape: Using this CVE-2022-4135 vulnerability, the attacker sends specially crafted data from the compromised renderer to the GPU process, triggering the heap buffer overflow and escaping the sandbox

This vulnerability is exploitable over the network through web content, requiring no authentication but requiring user interaction to visit the malicious page.

The vulnerability involves memory corruption in the GPU process. When a compromised renderer sends malformed graphics data, the GPU process incorrectly calculates buffer sizes and writes beyond allocated heap memory boundaries. This enables attackers to corrupt adjacent heap structures or overwrite function pointers, ultimately achieving code execution outside Chrome's sandbox. For detailed technical information, refer to the Chrome Bug Report #1392715.

Detection Methods for CVE-2022-4135

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual Chrome or Edge GPU process crashes or restarts
• Unexpected child processes spawned from the browser's GPU process
• Memory access violations or heap corruption errors in browser logs
• Network connections to suspicious domains initiated after browsing activity

Detection Strategies

• Monitor browser version across endpoints to identify installations running versions prior to 107.0.5304.121
• Implement endpoint detection rules for suspicious process chains originating from GPU processes
• Deploy memory protection technologies capable of detecting heap overflow exploitation attempts
• Utilize SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect sandbox escape patterns and anomalous process activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable crash reporting and analyze GPU process crashes for exploitation indicators
• Monitor for processes with unexpected parent-child relationships involving browser components
• Review Windows Event Logs for Application Crash events related to Chrome or Edge GPU processes
• Track browser update compliance across the organization to ensure vulnerable versions are patched

How to Mitigate CVE-2022-4135

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 107.0.5304.121 or later immediately
• Update Microsoft Edge to the latest patched version available
• Verify all Chromium-based browsers in your environment are updated
• Consider temporarily blocking access to high-risk websites until patching is complete

Patch Information

Google has released Chrome version 107.0.5304.121 to address this vulnerability. The patch includes proper bounds validation in the GPU component to prevent the heap buffer overflow condition. Organizations should prioritize this update given the confirmed active exploitation status.

For detailed patch information, refer to the Google Chrome Stable Channel Update. Additional security guidance is available from the Gentoo Security Advisory GLSA-202305-10. This vulnerability is tracked in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog.

Workarounds

• Enable automatic browser updates to receive security patches promptly
• Implement browser isolation technologies to contain potential exploitation
• Restrict browsing to trusted websites through web filtering until patching is complete
• Consider disabling hardware acceleration in Chrome settings (chrome://settings/system) as a temporary measure, though this may impact performance

# Verify Chrome version on Windows (PowerShell)
(Get-Item "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe").VersionInfo.FileVersion

# Verify Chrome version on Linux
google-chrome --version

# Force Chrome update check via command line (Windows)
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --check-for-update-interval=1