CVE-2022-0105
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's PDF accessibility features that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can trigger this vulnerability by tricking users into visiting a malicious HTML page. All Chrome users prior to version 97.0.4692.71 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
📦 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 leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution within the Chrome sandbox.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires bypassing Chrome's sandbox and other security mitigations, but use-after-free vulnerabilities are commonly exploited in browser attacks.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 97.0.4692.71 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/01/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click the three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable PDF accessibility features
allDisable Chrome's built-in PDF accessibility features to prevent exploitation of this specific vulnerability.
chrome://flags/#pdf-accessibility
Set to 'Disabled'
Use alternative PDF viewer
allConfigure Chrome to use external PDF viewers instead of the built-in PDF renderer.
chrome://settings/content/pdfDocuments
Toggle 'Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web filtering to block known malicious sites and restrict access to untrusted websites.
- Use application control to restrict execution of unknown processes from Chrome's sandbox escape attempts.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 97.0.4692.71, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on Linux/macOS command lineVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 97.0.4692.71 or higher and that automatic updates are enabled.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with accessibility-related modules
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
- Security event logs showing Chrome sandbox violations
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to known exploit hosting domains
- Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_crash_reports" AND (module="pdfium" OR module="accessibility") OR process_name="chrome.exe" AND event_id="1000"🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/01/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1274376
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5PAGL5M2KGYPN3VEQCRJJE6NA7D5YG5X/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KQJB6ZPRLKV6WCMX2PRRRQBFAOXFBK6B/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MRWRAXAFR3JR7XCFWTHC2KALSZKWACCE/
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/01/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1274376
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5PAGL5M2KGYPN3VEQCRJJE6NA7D5YG5X/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KQJB6ZPRLKV6WCMX2PRRRQBFAOXFBK6B/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MRWRAXAFR3JR7XCFWTHC2KALSZKWACCE/
