CVE-2022-0604
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows an attacker to exploit heap corruption in Google Chrome's Tab Groups feature through a malicious extension and crafted HTML page. It affects Chrome users who install untrusted extensions and visit malicious websites. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
💻 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...
Learn more about Chrome →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with user privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Browser crash or instability, with potential for limited data exfiltration from browser sessions.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version and users avoid installing untrusted extensions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires social engineering to install malicious extension and specific user interaction with Tab Groups feature.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 98.0.4758.102 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_14.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Chrome Extensions
allTemporarily disable all extensions to prevent malicious extension installation.
chrome://extensions/ → Toggle off all extensions
Restrict Extension Installation
allConfigure Chrome policies to prevent users from installing extensions.
Windows: Configure via Group Policy (ExtensionInstallBlocklist = *)
macOS/Linux: Use ExtensionInstallBlocklist policy
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web filtering to block known malicious sites
- Educate users about risks of installing untrusted browser extensions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 98.0.4758.102, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' (Linux)Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 98.0.4758.102 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with memory corruption errors
- Unexpected extension installation events
Network Indicators:
- Connections to known malicious domains hosting crafted HTML
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event="crash" OR event="extension_install")