CVE-2021-21165
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a data race vulnerability in Google Chrome's audio component that could allow heap corruption. A remote attacker could exploit this by tricking users into visiting a malicious HTML page, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. All users running vulnerable versions of Google Chrome are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
📦 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
Remote code execution with the privileges of the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise if Chrome is running with elevated privileges.
Likely Case
Browser crash or instability, with potential for limited code execution in the browser sandbox.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting a malicious HTML page and convincing users to visit it. Data race vulnerabilities can be challenging to exploit reliably.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 89.0.4389.72 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2021/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu. 2. Go to Help > About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for updates and install version 89.0.4389.72 or later. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allTemporarily disable JavaScript to prevent exploitation, though this will break most websites.
chrome://settings/content/javascript
Use Chrome Enterprise policies
allConfigure Chrome via Group Policy or MDM to block specific websites or restrict browser features.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative browsers that are not affected by this specific vulnerability
- Implement network filtering to block access to untrusted websites
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version by navigating to chrome://settings/help or clicking Help > About Google Chrome.Check Version:
On Windows: "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --version
On macOS: /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version
On Linux: google-chrome --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 89.0.4389.72 or higher in the About page.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
- Security event logs showing Chrome access violations
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes
- Traffic to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_id="1000" OR event_id="1001") AND process_name="chrome.exe" AND description CONTAINS "heap corruption" OR description CONTAINS "access violation"🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2021/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1174582
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BBT54RKAE5XLMWSHLVUKJ7T2XHHYMXLH/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FE5SIKEVYTMDCC5OSXGOM2KRPYLHYMQX/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LCIDZ77XUDMB2EBPPWCQXPEIJERDNSNT/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-08
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4886
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2021/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1174582
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BBT54RKAE5XLMWSHLVUKJ7T2XHHYMXLH/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FE5SIKEVYTMDCC5OSXGOM2KRPYLHYMQX/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LCIDZ77XUDMB2EBPPWCQXPEIJERDNSNT/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-08
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4886
