CVE-2023-6702 Overview
CVE-2023-6702 is a type confusion vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine used by Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. This vulnerability exists in Chrome versions prior to 120.0.6099.109 and allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption through a specially crafted HTML page. The attack requires user interaction, such as visiting a malicious website, but can lead to full compromise of the affected system.
Critical Impact
Type confusion in V8 can lead to heap corruption, enabling attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the browser process. This vulnerability has an exceptionally high exploitation probability, making it a significant threat for unpatched systems.
Affected Products
- Google Chrome (versions prior to 120.0.6099.109)
- Microsoft Edge Chromium (versions based on vulnerable Chromium)
- Fedora Project Fedora 38 (packaged Chromium)
Discovery Timeline
- 2023-12-14 - CVE-2023-6702 published to NVD
- 2025-11-04 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2023-6702
Vulnerability Analysis
This type confusion vulnerability resides in V8, the high-performance JavaScript and WebAssembly engine that powers Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. Type confusion occurs when the engine incorrectly handles object types during runtime, leading to memory corruption scenarios where data is accessed using an incompatible type.
In this case, the V8 engine fails to properly validate or enforce type constraints during certain operations, allowing an attacker to manipulate JavaScript objects in ways that cause the engine to misinterpret memory contents. This leads to heap corruption, which can be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution.
The vulnerability is classified under CWE-843 (Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type - Type Confusion), which is a common root cause for browser exploits targeting JavaScript engines.
Root Cause
The root cause of CVE-2023-6702 is improper type handling within the V8 JavaScript engine. When processing certain JavaScript constructs, the engine fails to correctly validate that objects conform to expected types before performing operations on them. This type mismatch allows attackers to craft JavaScript code that causes the engine to treat memory as a different type than intended, corrupting heap structures and potentially enabling control flow hijacking.
Attack Vector
The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, requiring user interaction in the form of visiting a malicious webpage. An attacker would craft a specially designed HTML page containing malicious JavaScript that exploits the type confusion flaw in V8. When a victim visits this page with a vulnerable browser, the JavaScript executes within the browser's V8 engine, triggering the type confusion and resulting heap corruption.
Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the browser process, potentially leading to:
- Complete system compromise depending on browser sandbox effectiveness
- Theft of sensitive information including credentials and session tokens
- Installation of malware or persistent backdoors
- Lateral movement within the victim's network
The vulnerability does not require any special privileges and has low attack complexity once the victim visits the attacker-controlled page. For detailed technical information, refer to the Chromium Bug Report #1501326.
Detection Methods for CVE-2023-6702
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual browser crashes or unexpected termination of Chrome or Chromium-based browser processes
- Evidence of exploitation attempts in browser crash reports showing V8-related stack traces
- Network connections to suspicious or newly registered domains hosting potential exploit pages
- Unexpected child processes spawned from browser processes indicating successful code execution
Detection Strategies
- Monitor browser version information across endpoints to identify installations running Chrome versions prior to 120.0.6099.109
- Implement network-level monitoring for connections to known malicious domains or URLs associated with browser exploit campaigns
- Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying anomalous behavior from browser processes such as unexpected system calls or memory operations
- Analyze browser telemetry and crash reports for V8-related exceptions that may indicate exploitation attempts
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable browser crash reporting and centralize logs for analysis of potential V8-related exploitation attempts
- Monitor process creation events for suspicious child processes spawned by Chrome or Chromium-based browsers
- Implement web content filtering to block access to known exploit delivery sites
- Track browser update status across the organization to ensure timely patching
How to Mitigate CVE-2023-6702
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Google Chrome to version 120.0.6099.109 or later immediately across all systems
- Update Microsoft Edge to the latest version that incorporates the Chromium security fix
- Fedora users should apply the latest Chromium package updates via dnf update chromium
- Verify browser auto-update functionality is enabled and operational on all endpoints
Patch Information
Google has released a security update addressing this vulnerability in Chrome version 120.0.6099.109. The fix was announced in the Google Chrome Stable Channel Update on December 12, 2023.
Additional security advisories have been released by:
Organizations should prioritize this update given the high severity and the substantial exploitation probability score (51.688% EPSS probability, 97.8th percentile).
Workarounds
- Restrict access to untrusted websites through web filtering or proxy configurations until patching is complete
- Consider using browser isolation technologies to contain potential exploits in sandboxed environments
- Disable JavaScript execution for untrusted sites using browser security settings or extensions as a temporary measure
- Implement network segmentation to limit the impact of potential browser compromise
# Verify Chrome version on Linux systems
google-chrome --version
# Update Chrome on Fedora
sudo dnf update chromium
# Check for pending Chrome updates on Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Process chrome -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Path
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
