CVE-2024-0224 Overview
CVE-2024-0224 is a use-after-free vulnerability [CWE-416] in the WebAudio component of Google Chrome versions prior to 120.0.6099.199. A remote attacker can trigger heap corruption by enticing a user to visit a crafted HTML page, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution within the renderer process. Chromium classified the security severity as High, and the issue also affects downstream distributions including Fedora 38 and Fedora 39. The flaw requires user interaction, namely loading the malicious page, but no authentication or elevated privileges are needed.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation enables remote heap corruption in the browser renderer, which attackers can chain with sandbox escapes to achieve full code execution on the host.
Affected Products
- Google Chrome versions prior to 120.0.6099.199
- Fedora 38
- Fedora 39
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-01-04 - CVE-2024-0224 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-0224
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the WebAudio implementation of Chromium's Blink rendering engine. WebAudio exposes a JavaScript API for processing and synthesizing audio in web pages, relying on heap-allocated audio nodes and buffers managed across multiple threads. A use-after-free condition occurs when code retains and dereferences a pointer to a WebAudio object after that object has been released. Attackers can groom the heap and reuse the freed allocation with attacker-controlled data, leading to memory corruption and potential control flow hijacking within the renderer process.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper lifetime management of WebAudio objects, classified under [CWE-416] Use After Free. References to an audio object remain reachable after deallocation, allowing subsequent operations to operate on stale memory. The Chromium issue tracker entry crbug.com/1505086 tracks the underlying defect and the corresponding fix in the Chromium source tree.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a crafted HTML page that uses the WebAudio API to allocate, free, and reuse specific audio graph objects in a sequence that triggers the dangling reference. When a victim visits the page in a vulnerable Chrome build, the renderer corrupts heap memory. Renderer compromise alone is constrained by the Chromium sandbox, but adversaries routinely pair such bugs with a sandbox escape to execute code on the host system. No verified public proof-of-concept is currently available for this CVE.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0224
Indicators of Compromise
- Chrome renderer processes crashing with heap corruption signatures shortly after loading untrusted web content.
- Outbound connections from browser hosts to newly registered or low-reputation domains hosting JavaScript that heavily exercises the WebAudio API.
- Unexpected child processes spawned from chrome.exe or the Chromium renderer immediately after page navigation.
Detection Strategies
- Inventory installed Chrome versions across the fleet and flag any build below 120.0.6099.199 as vulnerable.
- Hunt for renderer crash telemetry referencing WebAudio-related stack frames such as blink::AudioNode or blink::AudioContext.
- Correlate browser process anomalies with proxy or DNS logs to identify users who visited suspicious pages prior to the crash.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward Chrome crash reports and EDR process telemetry to a centralized analytics platform for retrospective hunting.
- Alert on browser processes performing unusual actions post-navigation, including file writes outside the browser cache and shellcode-like memory regions.
- Monitor Fedora package update channels and validate that chromium packages referenced in the Fedora advisories have been applied on Linux endpoints.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0224
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Google Chrome to version 120.0.6099.199 or later on all Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints, as documented in the Google Chrome Stable Channel Update.
- Apply the Fedora updates referenced in the Fedora 38 package announcement and Fedora 39 package announcement.
- Gentoo administrators should follow Gentoo GLSA 202401-34 to rebuild affected packages.
- Force a browser restart through enterprise policy to ensure updated binaries are loaded.
Patch Information
Google addressed the issue in Chrome 120.0.6099.199 on the stable channel. The Chromium defect is tracked as Chromium Bug #1505086. Downstream vendors including Fedora and Gentoo have published corresponding package updates that contain the fix.
Workarounds
- Where immediate patching is not feasible, deploy enterprise policies that restrict browsing to a curated allowlist of trusted sites.
- Disable JavaScript on untrusted origins through Chrome enterprise policies until updates are deployed.
- Use network filtering to block access to unknown or low-reputation domains that may host exploit content.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
