CVE-2024-1939 Overview
CVE-2024-1939 is a type confusion vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine used by Google Chrome versions prior to 122.0.6261.94. A remote attacker can exploit the flaw by serving a crafted HTML page, triggering heap corruption inside the renderer process. Successful exploitation may lead to arbitrary code execution within the browser sandbox and serves as a stepping stone for further compromise. Chromium engineers rated the security severity as High, and Google released a patch through the stable channel update for desktop on February 27, 2024. Fedora 38, 39, and 40 also shipped updated Chromium packages in response. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-843: Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type.
Critical Impact
A single visit to an attacker-controlled web page can corrupt the V8 heap and enable arbitrary code execution in the Chrome renderer process.
Affected Products
- Google Chrome versions prior to 122.0.6261.94
- Fedora 38, 39, and 40 Chromium packages
- Chromium-based browsers embedding the vulnerable V8 engine
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-02-27 - Google releases the Stable Channel update for desktop containing the fix
- 2024-02-29 - CVE-2024-1939 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2024-12-19 - Last updated in the NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-1939
Vulnerability Analysis
The flaw resides in V8, the JavaScript and WebAssembly engine that ships with Chromium. V8 performs aggressive optimizations and relies on accurate type information to generate fast machine code. A type confusion bug causes the engine to treat a memory region as a type other than the one originally allocated. When this mismatch occurs, the engine reads or writes fields at offsets that do not correspond to the actual object layout, producing heap corruption.
An attacker delivers a crafted HTML page that loads malicious JavaScript. The script manipulates objects in a way that triggers the optimizing compiler or runtime to make incorrect type assumptions. From there, the attacker shapes the heap to gain arbitrary read and write primitives inside the renderer process. The flaw requires user interaction, since the victim must visit the malicious page, but no authentication is needed.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper type checking inside V8, classified as CWE-843. The engine accesses an object using a type signature inconsistent with how the object was allocated, allowing controlled memory corruption on the V8 heap.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is network-based and requires a user to load attacker-controlled web content. Once the crafted JavaScript executes in the renderer, the heap corruption can be leveraged to escape V8's sandboxing primitives and execute attacker-supplied code with renderer privileges. Combined with a separate sandbox escape, this class of bug enables full remote code execution on the host.
No verified public proof-of-concept is available for this CVE. Technical details are documented in the Chromium Issue Report and the Google Chrome Desktop Update.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-1939
Indicators of Compromise
- Chrome renderer processes crashing with V8 heap corruption signatures shortly after visiting an untrusted page
- Unexpected child processes spawned by chrome.exe following web browsing activity
- Outbound connections from browser processes to previously unseen domains hosting heavily obfuscated JavaScript
Detection Strategies
- Inventory Chrome installations and flag any version below 122.0.6261.94 as exposed
- Monitor browser telemetry for renderer crash dumps containing V8 stack frames such as v8::internal:: symbols
- Inspect web proxy logs for HTML pages serving large, minified JavaScript payloads with V8-specific optimization triggers
Monitoring Recommendations
- Centralize endpoint telemetry to correlate browser crashes with subsequent process creation or persistence events
- Track Chrome --version output across managed endpoints through configuration management tooling
- Alert on Chromium-based browsers loading content from low-reputation or newly registered domains
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-1939
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Google Chrome to version 122.0.6261.94 or later on Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints
- Apply Fedora package updates for affected Chromium builds on Fedora 38, 39, and 40
- Restart all Chrome instances after updating so the patched V8 binary is loaded into memory
- Audit other Chromium-based browsers and Electron applications for embedded V8 versions that may share the defect
Patch Information
Google addressed CVE-2024-1939 in the Chrome Stable Channel update released on February 27, 2024, which advances desktop builds to 122.0.6261.94 for Linux and 122.0.6261.94/.95 for Windows and macOS. Fedora published corresponding Chromium package updates referenced in the Fedora Package Announcement.
Workarounds
- Enforce browser update policies through enterprise management so users cannot defer Chrome updates
- Restrict browsing to trusted domains via web proxy or DNS filtering until patching is complete
- Disable JavaScript on untrusted sites using Chrome enterprise policy DefaultJavaScriptSetting where feasible
# Verify the installed Chrome version on Linux endpoints
google-chrome --version
# Update Chromium on Fedora hosts
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh chromium
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
