CVE-2024-7000: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-7000 Overview

CVE-2024-7000 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) component of Google Chrome prior to version 127.0.6533.72. A remote attacker who convinces a user to perform specific user interface gestures can trigger heap corruption through a crafted HTML page. Chromium classifies the security severity as Medium, while the NVD assigned a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 with HIGH severity. The flaw maps to CWE-416: Use After Free and affects Chrome desktop builds across supported platforms.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows heap corruption in the renderer process, which adversaries can chain with sandbox escapes to achieve remote code execution on the victim host.

Affected Products

Google Chrome (Stable channel) prior to 127.0.6533.72 on Windows
Google Chrome (Stable channel) prior to 127.0.6533.72 on macOS
Google Chrome (Stable channel) prior to 127.0.6533.72 on Linux

Discovery Timeline

2024-07-23 - Google releases Chrome Stable channel update 127.0.6533.72/.73 containing the fix per the Chrome Releases blog
2024-08-06 - CVE-2024-7000 published to NVD
2024-08-07 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7000

Vulnerability Analysis

The defect resides in Blink's CSS handling code. A use-after-free condition arises when an object referenced during CSS processing is freed while a dangling pointer still references the memory region. Subsequent operations that dereference the stale pointer corrupt the heap, allowing an attacker to influence control-flow data such as virtual function table pointers. The Chromium issue tracker entry 339877158 tracks the underlying defect, though full technical details remain restricted under Chromium's standard disclosure policy. Exploitation requires user interaction, meaning the victim must visit a malicious page and perform a specific UI gesture for the corrupted state to be reached.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management within the CSS subsystem of the Blink rendering engine. When a CSS-related object is released, references held elsewhere are not invalidated, leaving a dangling pointer. Heap reuse of the freed allocation by attacker-controlled data converts the dangling pointer into a controllable primitive.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a crafted HTML page that triggers a specific sequence of DOM and CSS manipulations. After the victim performs the required UI gesture, the renderer executes the vulnerable code path. A successful exploit yields code execution within the sandboxed renderer process, which is typically combined with a separate sandbox escape for full system compromise.

No public proof-of-concept code is available for CVE-2024-7000. Refer to the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry for the upstream defect record.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7000

Indicators of Compromise

Chrome renderer process crashes with heap corruption signatures referencing Blink CSS modules in crash dumps or Windows Error Reporting telemetry.
Outbound HTTPS connections from Chrome to recently registered or low-reputation domains immediately preceding renderer crashes.
Unexpected child processes spawned by chrome.exe shortly after browsing activity, indicating potential post-exploitation behavior.

Detection Strategies

Inventory installed Chrome versions across endpoints and flag any build below 127.0.6533.72 as vulnerable.
Correlate browser crash events with subsequent process creation, file writes to user-writable directories, and persistence operations.
Hunt for HTML payloads in proxy logs containing unusual CSS combined with scripted DOM mutations and forced user-interaction prompts.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward Chrome update telemetry and version data to a central logging platform to track patch compliance.
Monitor chrome.exe and renderer child process behavior for anomalous memory access patterns and abnormal termination codes.
Alert on suspicious download or execution chains originating from browser sessions.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7000

Immediate Actions Required

Update Google Chrome to version 127.0.6533.72 or later on all Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints.
Restart Chrome after the update so the patched binaries replace running processes.
Verify enterprise deployment policies enforce automatic Chrome updates rather than allowing user deferral.

Patch Information

Google addressed CVE-2024-7000 in the Stable channel release 127.0.6533.72/.73 for desktop on 23 July 2024. Details are available in the Chrome Releases announcement. Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi should be updated to the corresponding vendor builds that incorporate the upstream fix.

Workarounds

Restrict browsing to trusted sites through enterprise proxy or DNS filtering until patching completes.
Deploy site isolation and strict same-origin enforcement via Chrome enterprise policies to limit renderer compromise impact.
Disable JavaScript on untrusted origins using the DefaultJavaScriptSetting policy where operationally feasible.

bash

# Verify installed Chrome version on Linux endpoints
google-chrome --version

# Windows: query installed version from the registry
reg query "HKLM\Software\Google\Chrome\BLBeacon" /v version

# Enforce auto-update on Windows via Group Policy registry key
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Update" /v UpdateDefault /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f