CVE-2024-6777: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-6777 Overview

CVE-2024-6777 is a Use After Free vulnerability in the Navigation component of Google Chrome prior to version 126.0.6478.182. This memory corruption flaw allows an attacker who convinces a user to install a malicious extension to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted Chrome Extension. The vulnerability was classified with high severity by Chromium security team.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow attackers to corrupt heap memory, potentially leading to denial of service or other unpredictable behavior through malicious browser extensions.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 126.0.6478.182
• All platforms running vulnerable Chrome versions (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Chrome-based browsers using affected Chromium codebase

Discovery Timeline

• July 16, 2024 - CVE-2024-6777 published to NVD
• December 26, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-6777

Vulnerability Analysis

This Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability exists in the Navigation component of Google Chrome. Use After Free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it references has been freed, leading to undefined behavior. In this case, the flaw resides in how Chrome handles navigation events, particularly when interacting with maliciously crafted browser extensions.

The exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, convincing a user to install a malicious Chrome extension. Once installed, the extension can trigger the vulnerability through crafted navigation operations that cause the browser to reference freed memory locations.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-6777 is improper memory management in Chrome's Navigation component. When certain navigation events are processed, the browser may free memory that is still being referenced elsewhere in the codebase. This dangling pointer condition creates an exploitable state where heap corruption can occur.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-416 (Use After Free), which describes scenarios where memory is accessed after it has been released back to the system. In browser contexts, such flaws are particularly dangerous as they can be leveraged through JavaScript or extension APIs to manipulate memory in controlled ways.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2024-6777 is network-based but requires user interaction. An attacker must first convince the target user to install a malicious Chrome extension. This social engineering component is critical to the attack chain.

Once the malicious extension is installed, it can execute crafted operations against Chrome's Navigation component to trigger the Use After Free condition. The extension would perform specific navigation-related API calls designed to create the race condition or memory state that exposes the vulnerability.

The vulnerability mechanism involves crafted Chrome Extension interactions with the Navigation component that trigger improper memory lifecycle handling. For detailed technical analysis, refer to Chromium Issue #345640549.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-6777

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome browser crashes during navigation operations
• Suspicious browser extensions with elevated permissions or unknown origins
• Unusual extension activity patterns accessing navigation-related APIs

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for installation of unverified or suspicious Chrome extensions
• Implement endpoint detection to identify Chrome crash patterns consistent with heap corruption
• Review browser extension logs for anomalous navigation API usage

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Chrome crash reporting to identify potential exploitation attempts
• Deploy endpoint monitoring solutions to track browser extension installations
• Audit installed extensions across enterprise environments for unauthorized additions

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-6777

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 126.0.6478.182 or later immediately
• Audit and remove any suspicious or unnecessary browser extensions
• Enable automatic Chrome updates to receive security patches promptly
• Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted browser extensions

Patch Information

Google has addressed this vulnerability in Chrome version 126.0.6478.182. The fix was announced in the Chrome Stable Channel Update for Desktop. Organizations should prioritize updating all Chrome installations to the patched version.

Chrome typically auto-updates, but administrators can verify the current version by navigating to chrome://settings/help. Enterprise deployments should leverage Chrome management policies to enforce updates.

Workarounds

• Restrict browser extension installations to only trusted, verified sources
• Implement enterprise policies to control which extensions can be installed
• Consider using Chrome's extension allowlist feature to prevent unauthorized extension installations
• Disable unnecessary extensions until the patch can be applied

# Chrome enterprise policy to restrict extensions (Windows Registry)
# HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
# ExtensionInstallBlocklist = "*"
# ExtensionInstallAllowlist = [approved extension IDs]