CVE-2019-5759 – This vulnerability in Google Chrome allowed att... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2019-5759?

CVE-2019-5759 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability in Google Chrome allowed attackers to escape the browser's security sandbox via specially crafted HTML pages. It affected Chrome on Android and macOS versions before 72.0.3626.81, potentially enabling remote code execution on vulnerable systems.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Google Chrome allowed attackers to escape the browser's security sandbox via specially crafted HTML pages. It affected Chrome on Android and macOS versions before 72.0.3626.81, potentially enabling remote code execution on vulnerable systems.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome

Versions: Versions prior to 72.0.3626.81

Operating Systems: Android, macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Windows and Linux Chrome versions were not affected according to available information.

📦 What is this software?

Chrome by Google

Google Chrome is the world's most popular web browser, used by over 3 billion users globally across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms. As a Chromium-based browser developed by Google, Chrome dominates the browser market with approximately 65% market share, making it a critical compon...

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise via sandbox escape leading to arbitrary code execution with user privileges, potentially enabling further privilege escalation.

🟠

Likely Case

Remote attacker gains ability to execute code outside Chrome's sandbox, potentially accessing system resources and user data.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper patching, no impact as the vulnerability is fully addressed in Chrome 72+.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Exploitable via visiting malicious websites, requiring no user interaction beyond page load.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Still exploitable via internal malicious sites or phishing, but requires user to visit crafted page.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires crafting specific HTML with select elements to trigger use-after-free condition.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 72.0.3626.81 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2019/01/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open Chrome 2. Click menu → Help → About Google Chrome 3. Allow update to complete 4. Restart Chrome when prompted

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable JavaScript

all

Prevents exploitation by disabling JavaScript execution in Chrome

Use alternative browser

all

Temporarily switch to unaffected browser until Chrome is updated

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict access to untrusted websites using web filtering
Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version in Settings → About Chrome. If version is below 72.0.3626.81, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

chrome://version/ in Chrome address bar

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 72.0.3626.81 or higher in About Chrome page.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with memory access violations
Unusual process creation from Chrome

Network Indicators:

Requests to known exploit hosting domains
Unusual outbound connections from Chrome

SIEM Query:

process_name:chrome.exe AND (event_id:1000 OR event_id:1001) AND description:*access*violation*

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2019-5759

CVSS v3 Score: 9.6 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-416

Published: February 19, 2019

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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