CVE-2024-2883: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-2883 Overview

CVE-2024-2883 is a critical use-after-free vulnerability in the ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine) component of Google Chrome prior to version 123.0.6312.86. This memory corruption flaw allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption through a specially crafted HTML page. ANGLE is Chrome's graphics abstraction layer that translates OpenGL ES API calls to the native graphics API of the underlying platform, making it a critical component for rendering web content.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can potentially achieve arbitrary code execution by exploiting heap corruption when users visit a malicious webpage, compromising system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 123.0.6312.86
• Fedora 38 (Chromium packages)
• Fedora 39 (Chromium packages)
• Fedora 40 (Chromium packages)

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-26 - CVE-2024-2883 published to NVD
• 2025-03-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2883

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-416 (Use After Free), a type of memory corruption that occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it references has been freed. In the context of ANGLE, this vulnerability manifests during graphics rendering operations where memory management issues can lead to heap corruption.

The ANGLE component is responsible for translating OpenGL ES calls to platform-specific graphics APIs (Direct3D on Windows, OpenGL on other platforms). When processing certain graphics operations, the vulnerable code path improperly manages memory objects, allowing attackers to craft malicious HTML content that triggers the use-after-free condition.

Successful exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, the victim must navigate to a malicious webpage containing the crafted exploit code. Once triggered, the heap corruption can potentially be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution within the context of the Chrome renderer process.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-2883 lies in improper memory lifecycle management within ANGLE's graphics processing routines. The vulnerability occurs when a memory object is freed but a reference to that memory location is retained and subsequently used. This creates a dangling pointer condition that can be exploited by attackers who can control the contents of the freed memory region through heap manipulation techniques.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, requiring user interaction. An attacker would need to:

1. Create a malicious webpage containing specially crafted HTML/JavaScript that triggers the vulnerable ANGLE code path
2. Entice a victim to visit the malicious page through phishing, malvertising, or compromised websites
3. Exploit the use-after-free condition to achieve heap corruption
4. Leverage the heap corruption to potentially execute arbitrary code

The vulnerability can be triggered through WebGL content or other graphics-intensive web applications that utilize the ANGLE rendering layer. Since no public proof-of-concept is currently available, exploitation complexity in the wild may be higher, but the potential impact remains severe.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2883

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome renderer process crashes or instability when visiting certain websites
• Abnormal memory consumption patterns in Chrome processes, particularly related to GPU operations
• Evidence of heap corruption artifacts in Chrome crash dumps
• Suspicious WebGL or graphics-intensive content loading from untrusted sources

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for Chrome crash reports containing ANGLE-related stack traces or GPU process anomalies
• Implement network security controls to detect and block known malicious domains hosting exploit code
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying memory corruption exploitation attempts
• Analyze browser process behavior for signs of code injection or abnormal execution patterns following web navigation

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Chrome's built-in crash reporting and review reports for ANGLE-related failures
• Configure SentinelOne Singularity to monitor Chrome processes for suspicious memory operations and behavioral anomalies
• Implement web filtering to restrict access to uncategorized or potentially malicious websites
• Monitor system logs for unusual GPU driver interactions or DirectX/OpenGL errors

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2883

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 123.0.6312.86 or later immediately across all systems
• Enable automatic updates for Chrome to ensure timely security patch deployment
• For Fedora users, apply the latest Chromium package updates from official repositories
• Consider temporarily restricting access to untrusted websites until patches are applied

Patch Information

Google has addressed this vulnerability in Chrome version 123.0.6312.86, released on March 26, 2024. The fix resolves the memory management issue in ANGLE that allows the use-after-free condition. For detailed information about this security update, refer to the Google Chrome Stable Channel Update. Additional technical details can be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker.

Fedora users should update their Chromium packages through official package management. Security updates are available for Fedora 38, 39, and 40 as documented in the Fedora Package Announcements.

Workarounds

• Disable WebGL in Chrome by navigating to chrome://flags/#disable-webgl and enabling the disable flag (may impact web application functionality)
• Use browser isolation or sandboxed browsing environments when accessing untrusted content
• Implement network-level blocking for known malicious domains and suspicious WebGL content
• Deploy endpoint protection solutions like SentinelOne that can detect and prevent exploitation attempts at runtime

# Verify Chrome version and update status
google-chrome --version

# For Fedora systems, update Chromium packages
sudo dnf update chromium

# Check for available security updates
sudo dnf check-update chromium