CVE-2024-7968: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-7968 Overview

CVE-2024-7968 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Autofill component of Google Chrome prior to version 128.0.6613.84. This memory corruption flaw allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption through a crafted HTML page, provided they can convince the user to engage in specific UI interactions. The vulnerability was classified as high severity by the Chromium security team.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation could lead to heap corruption, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of the browser process, compromise user data, or crash the application.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 128.0.6613.84
• Chromium-based browsers using affected Autofill component versions
• All desktop platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) running vulnerable Chrome versions

Discovery Timeline

• August 21, 2024 - CVE-2024-7968 published to NVD
• August 27, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7968

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-416 (Use After Free), a class of memory corruption bugs that occur when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed. In the context of Chrome's Autofill feature, this creates a dangerous condition where the browser may access deallocated memory during form handling operations.

Use-after-free vulnerabilities in browser components are particularly dangerous because they can be triggered through malicious web content. The Autofill component handles sensitive user data including names, addresses, and payment information, making this an attractive target for attackers.

The exploitation requires user interaction with specific UI elements, which provides some mitigation but does not eliminate the risk. Attackers typically craft convincing phishing pages or inject malicious content into compromised websites to trigger the vulnerable code path.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper memory management within Chrome's Autofill component. When certain UI interactions occur during form processing, the code fails to properly track the lifecycle of memory objects. This results in a dangling pointer scenario where the application retains a reference to memory that has already been returned to the heap.

When the freed memory is subsequently accessed, the program may read or write to memory that could have been reallocated for other purposes. Attackers can leverage heap manipulation techniques to control what data occupies the freed memory region, potentially achieving code execution.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker would need to:

1. Host or inject a specially crafted HTML page containing malicious form elements
2. Convince the target user to visit the malicious page
3. Trigger specific UI interactions with the Autofill-enabled form elements
4. Exploit the resulting heap corruption to achieve their objectives

The vulnerability does not require authentication or special privileges, but the user interaction requirement limits the potential for automated mass exploitation.

Due to the nature of this vulnerability in a browser component, the attack typically leverages JavaScript to manipulate DOM elements and timing to create the precise conditions needed to trigger the use-after-free condition. Technical details can be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7968

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome browser crashes, particularly during form interactions
• Chrome crash reports referencing memory access violations in Autofill-related code paths
• Anomalous network traffic to suspicious domains followed by unusual UI behavior
• Evidence of heap spray patterns in browser memory dumps

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Chrome version deployments across the enterprise to identify systems running versions prior to 128.0.6613.84
• Implement endpoint detection rules that alert on Chrome crash patterns consistent with memory corruption exploitation
• Deploy network monitoring to detect traffic to known malicious domains serving exploit pages
• Enable Chrome's built-in crash reporting and centralize analysis for correlation

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure SentinelOne agents to monitor Chrome process behavior for anomalous memory access patterns
• Establish baseline Chrome update compliance metrics and alert on deviations
• Monitor for suspicious process spawning from Chrome that could indicate post-exploitation activity
• Implement web proxy logging to identify access to recently registered or suspicious domains

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7968

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 128.0.6613.84 or later immediately across all managed endpoints
• Verify automatic updates are enabled and functioning on all Chrome installations
• Consider using enterprise browser management to enforce minimum version requirements
• Educate users about the risks of interacting with unfamiliar websites during the patch rollout period

Patch Information

Google addressed this vulnerability in Chrome version 128.0.6613.84, released as part of the stable channel update. The fix corrects the memory management issue in the Autofill component to ensure proper object lifecycle tracking.

Organizations should reference the Google Chrome Update Announcement for official patch details and release notes. The update is available through Chrome's automatic update mechanism and can be manually triggered via chrome://settings/help.

Workarounds

• Disable Chrome Autofill functionality temporarily via chrome://settings/addresses and chrome://settings/passwords until patching is complete
• Deploy enterprise policies to disable Autofill features using AutofillAddressEnabled and AutofillCreditCardEnabled group policy settings
• Consider using browser isolation technology for high-risk browsing activities
• Implement strict web filtering to block access to untrusted or newly registered domains

# Enterprise Chrome policy configuration example (Windows Registry)
# Disable Autofill for addresses
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v AutofillAddressEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

# Disable Autofill for credit cards
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v AutofillCreditCardEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f