CVE-2024-9955: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-9955 Overview

CVE-2024-9955 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the WebAuthentication component of Google Chrome versions prior to 130.0.6723.58. A remote attacker can trigger heap corruption by serving a crafted HTML page to a victim browser. Successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution within the renderer process. The flaw is tracked under CWE-416 and was addressed by Google in the Chrome stable channel update for desktop released in October 2024.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can corrupt heap memory through a malicious web page, enabling potential code execution in Chrome's renderer process and compromising browser confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome (Desktop) versions prior to 130.0.6723.58
• Chromium-based browsers sharing the affected WebAuthentication code
• Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-15 - Google publishes the Chrome stable channel update addressing the issue
• 2024-10-15 - CVE-2024-9955 published to NVD
• 2025-01-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9955

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Chrome's WebAuthentication implementation, which provides the Web Authentication API (WebAuthn) for passwordless and second-factor authentication flows. A use-after-free condition occurs when the browser references heap memory associated with a WebAuthentication object after that memory has been freed.

Attackers exploit the flaw by hosting a crafted HTML page that invokes WebAuthn methods in a specific sequence. The reuse of freed memory enables heap corruption, which can be shaped to overwrite function pointers or virtual table entries. The Exploit Prediction Scoring System places this issue in the upper percentile of CVEs by likelihood of weaponization, reflecting the historical trend of Chrome renderer bugs being chained into full sandbox escapes.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management in WebAuthentication code paths. An object reference is retained and later dereferenced after the underlying allocation is released, satisfying the classic [CWE-416] use-after-free pattern. The defect maps to Chromium issue 370133761.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires the victim to load attacker-controlled HTML in a vulnerable Chrome build. No authentication is required, and the attack is delivered over the network through standard web navigation, advertising, or iframe embedding. User interaction is limited to visiting the page. See the Google Chrome release notes for vendor confirmation. No public proof-of-concept code has been released for this issue.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9955

Indicators of Compromise

• Chrome renderer process crashes referencing WebAuthentication components in crash dumps
• Unexpected child process creation spawned from chrome.exe after visiting untrusted sites
• Outbound connections from Chrome renderer processes to unfamiliar domains immediately following WebAuthn-related navigation
• Browser executions of versions older than 130.0.6723.58 in enterprise telemetry

Detection Strategies

• Inventory Chrome versions across endpoints and flag installations below 130.0.6723.58
• Monitor browser crash telemetry for repeated faults in WebAuthentication code paths
• Apply behavioral detection on anomalous process trees originating from Chrome renderer processes
• Inspect web proxy logs for HTML resources that invoke unusual WebAuthn API sequences

Monitoring Recommendations

• Ingest endpoint browser version data into a centralized data lake for continuous version compliance reporting
• Alert on renderer process exits with non-zero or crash status codes correlated with WebAuthn API usage
• Track outbound traffic from Chrome processes to newly registered or low-reputation domains
• Correlate browser telemetry with EDR process lineage to identify post-exploitation activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9955

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 130.0.6723.58 or later on all managed endpoints
• Restart Chrome after the update applies to ensure the patched binaries are loaded
• Audit Chromium-derived browsers in the environment and apply vendor updates that incorporate the upstream fix
• Restrict access to untrusted web content for users running unpatched browser builds

Patch Information

Google released the fix in the Chrome stable channel update for desktop on October 15, 2024. Administrators should deploy version 130.0.6723.58 or newer via enterprise update channels such as Chrome Browser Cloud Management, Group Policy, or MDM. Full patch details are available in the Chrome stable channel announcement and the corresponding Chromium issue tracker entry.

Workarounds

• Disable the WebAuthentication API for unmanaged or guest profiles using enterprise browser policies where feasible
• Enforce site isolation and strict same-origin policies through Chrome enterprise settings
• Route browser traffic through a secure web gateway that blocks known malicious domains and inspects HTML payloads
• Use application allowlisting to prevent execution of unauthorized child processes spawned from Chrome

# Verify Chrome version on Linux/macOS endpoints
google-chrome --version

# Windows: query installed Chrome version via registry
reg query "HKLM\Software\Google\Update\Clients\{8A69D345-D564-463C-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}" /v pv

# Enforce minimum Chrome version via enterprise policy (example JSON for managed preferences)
{
  "BrowserSwitcherEnabled": false,
  "TargetVersionPrefix": "130.0.6723.58"
}