CVE-2024-3168: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-3168 Overview

CVE-2024-3168 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the DevTools component of Google Chrome prior to version 122.0.6261.57. A remote attacker can exploit heap corruption by tricking a user into loading a crafted HTML page. The flaw is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free and affects the Chromium codebase used by Chrome and downstream browsers. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, but can lead to arbitrary code execution within the renderer process context.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can trigger heap corruption in Chrome's DevTools, potentially leading to code execution when a victim opens a malicious HTML page.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 122.0.6261.57
• Chromium-based browsers incorporating the vulnerable DevTools component
• Desktop platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) running affected Chrome builds

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-07-16 - CVE-2024-3168 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
• 2025-03-13 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3168

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Chrome's DevTools subsystem. DevTools provides developer-facing inspection, debugging, and profiling features that interact closely with the renderer and browser processes. A use-after-free condition occurs when code continues to reference a heap object after it has been freed, allowing an attacker to manipulate the freed memory region.

An attacker delivers a crafted HTML page that triggers the unsafe object lifecycle within DevTools. Once the dangling pointer is dereferenced, the attacker can corrupt adjacent heap metadata or hijack control flow. Combined with a sandbox escape or additional renderer exploit, this primitive can support arbitrary code execution.

The issue carries an EPSS probability of 1.295% (80th percentile), indicating measurable but not widespread exploitation activity. No public proof-of-concept and no CISA KEV listing are recorded for this CVE.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management within DevTools internals. A heap-allocated object is freed while one or more references remain reachable from JavaScript or internal C++ logic. Subsequent operations dereference the stale pointer, producing heap corruption. The defect aligns with CWE-416, a recurring class of bugs in browser engines that mix garbage-collected JavaScript objects with manually managed C++ resources.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is network-based and requires user interaction. The victim must visit or be redirected to a page hosting the malicious payload, then interact with DevTools-related functionality. The attacker requires no privileges on the target system. See the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry and the Google Chrome Update Announcement for vendor-provided context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3168

Indicators of Compromise

• Chrome process crashes or renderer tab failures correlated with DevTools usage on specific URLs
• Outbound connections to attacker-controlled domains immediately following Chrome rendering of untrusted HTML
• Unexpected child processes spawned by chrome.exe or platform equivalents shortly after browsing activity
• Browser binaries at versions below 122.0.6261.57 deployed across managed endpoints

Detection Strategies

• Inventory Chrome versions across the fleet and flag any build below 122.0.6261.57
• Monitor endpoint telemetry for Chrome renderer crash signatures (STATUS_HEAP_CORRUPTION, SIGSEGV in renderer threads)
• Correlate browser process anomalies with web proxy logs identifying recently visited untrusted domains

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable enterprise reporting through Chrome Browser Cloud Management to surface version drift and crash events
• Forward browser, EDR, and proxy logs into a centralized SIEM for cross-source correlation
• Alert on post-exploitation behaviors such as unexpected script interpreters, LOLBins, or persistence attempts originating from browser child processes

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3168

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 122.0.6261.57 or later on all managed endpoints
• Force-restart browsers after deployment so the patched binary becomes active in memory
• Audit Chromium-based applications (Edge, Brave, Opera, Electron apps) for upstream patch adoption
• Restrict use of Chrome DevTools on untrusted content where operationally feasible

Patch Information

Google addressed the issue in the Stable Channel update released for desktop Chrome, fixed in version 122.0.6261.57. Refer to the Google Chrome Update Announcement for the full advisory and to the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry for upstream tracking.

Workarounds

• Block access to untrusted or uncategorized websites at the web proxy or secure web gateway until patching completes
• Apply Chrome enterprise policies to disable developer tools (DeveloperToolsAvailability) for non-developer user groups
• Enforce Site Isolation and Enhanced Safe Browsing to reduce renderer attack surface

# Configuration example: enforce Chrome enterprise policy to disable DevTools
# Windows registry path
HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\DeveloperToolsAvailability = 2

# Linux managed policy (/etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/devtools.json)
{
  "DeveloperToolsAvailability": 2
}