CVE-2023-0932: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2023-0932 Overview

CVE-2023-0932 is a use after free vulnerability in the WebRTC component of Google Chrome on Windows. This memory corruption flaw exists in versions prior to 110.0.5481.177 and allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption through a crafted HTML page. Successful exploitation requires the attacker to convince the user to engage in specific UI interactions, making this a social engineering-assisted attack vector.

Use after free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior that attackers can leverage to execute arbitrary code, cause application crashes, or corrupt data structures in memory.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can achieve heap corruption and potentially execute arbitrary code by luring users to malicious web pages, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 110.0.5481.177 on Windows
• Microsoft Windows (as the host operating system)

Discovery Timeline

• February 22, 2023 - CVE-2023-0932 published to NVD
• November 21, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-0932

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-416 (Use After Free), a memory corruption vulnerability class that affects the WebRTC implementation in Google Chrome. WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a browser API that enables real-time audio, video, and data communication between browsers without requiring plugins.

The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit heap corruption through specially crafted HTML pages. The attack requires user interaction—specifically, the victim must be convinced to engage in particular UI interactions while visiting a malicious webpage. This interaction requirement slightly increases the complexity of exploitation but does not significantly reduce the risk, as attackers commonly employ social engineering techniques to achieve this.

When successfully exploited, the vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution within the context of the Chrome browser process, potentially allowing attackers to compromise the underlying Windows system, steal sensitive data, or install malware.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2023-0932 lies in improper memory management within Chrome's WebRTC component. Specifically, the vulnerability occurs when WebRTC code references memory that has already been deallocated. This happens when an object is freed while other parts of the code still hold pointers to it. When these dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced, the application may read or write to memory that has been reallocated for other purposes.

In the context of WebRTC, this could involve media stream objects, peer connection handlers, or data channel structures that are prematurely freed while still being referenced by asynchronous callbacks or event handlers.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2023-0932 is network-based, requiring the following conditions:

1. Malicious Web Page: The attacker must host or inject a crafted HTML page containing malicious JavaScript that triggers the WebRTC use after free condition
2. User Interaction: The victim must navigate to the malicious page and perform specific UI interactions that trigger the vulnerable code path
3. Heap Manipulation: The attacker's code manipulates heap memory to place controlled data in the freed memory region, enabling exploitation of the use after free condition

The vulnerability does not require any privileges and can be triggered against any user running an unpatched version of Chrome on Windows.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-0932

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome browser crashes or instability when visiting unknown websites
• Abnormal WebRTC activity or connections to suspicious peer endpoints
• Chrome process exhibiting unusual memory access patterns or spawning unexpected child processes
• Browser sandbox escape indicators or privilege escalation attempts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for Chrome versions older than 110.0.5481.177 across managed endpoints using software inventory tools
• Deploy browser version monitoring to ensure all instances are updated to patched versions
• Implement web filtering to block access to known malicious domains that may host exploit pages
• Configure endpoint detection to alert on anomalous Chrome process behavior indicative of memory corruption exploitation

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Chrome's built-in crash reporting to identify potential exploitation attempts
• Monitor network traffic for suspicious WebRTC connections or unusual peer-to-peer communication patterns
• Deploy SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect post-exploitation activities such as code injection or privilege escalation
• Maintain centralized logging of browser security events for forensic analysis

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-0932

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 110.0.5481.177 or later immediately on all Windows systems
• Verify the update was successfully applied by checking chrome://version in the browser
• Enable automatic updates for Chrome to ensure future security patches are applied promptly
• Review organizational systems for any instances running outdated Chrome versions

Patch Information

Google addressed CVE-2023-0932 in the Chrome Stable Channel update released on February 22, 2023. The fix is included in Chrome version 110.0.5481.177 and all subsequent releases. Organizations should update Chrome using their standard software deployment mechanisms.

For detailed patch information, refer to the Google Chrome Desktop Update advisory. Additional technical details can be found in Chromium Bug Report #1413005, and Linux distributions may reference the Gentoo GLSA 202309-17 advisory.

Workarounds

• If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting access to untrusted websites through web filtering proxies
• Disable WebRTC functionality in Chrome via enterprise policies if not required for business operations (set WebRtcUdpPortRange to empty or use third-party extensions)
• Implement browser isolation solutions to contain potential exploitation within sandboxed environments
• Educate users about the risks of clicking on suspicious links or visiting unknown websites