CVE-2022-0790 – This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrom... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-0790?

CVE-2022-0790 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (CRITICAL). This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's Cast UI that allows sandbox escape. An attacker could exploit it by tricking a user into interacting with a malicious webpage, potentially gaining elevated privileges. All Chrome users on versions before 99.0.4844.51 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's Cast UI that allows sandbox escape. An attacker could exploit it by tricking a user into interacting with a malicious webpage, potentially gaining elevated privileges. All Chrome users on versions before 99.0.4844.51 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome

Versions: All versions prior to 99.0.4844.51

Operating Systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects all Chrome installations with default settings. Cast feature must be present/enabled.

📦 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

Full system compromise via sandbox escape leading to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

🟠

Likely Case

Limited sandbox escape allowing attacker to execute code with higher privileges than typical web content.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or sandboxing prevents exploitation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Exploitation requires user interaction but can be triggered via malicious websites.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction with malicious content, which could be delivered internally.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires specific user interaction with crafted HTML page. No public exploit code known.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 99.0.4844.51 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.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 Cast feature

all

Temporarily disable Chrome's Cast functionality to mitigate the vulnerability

chrome://flags/#load-media-router-component-extension → Disabled

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Use alternative browsers until Chrome can be updated
Implement network filtering to block malicious websites and restrict user web access

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: chrome://version/ - if version is below 99.0.4844.51, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

On Windows: "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --version
On Linux: google-chrome --version
On macOS: /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 99.0.4844.51 or higher via chrome://version/

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports related to cast_ui or sandbox violations
Unexpected Chrome process spawning with elevated privileges

Network Indicators:

Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes
Traffic to known malicious domains hosting exploit pages

SIEM Query:

process_name:"chrome.exe" AND (parent_process_name:"chrome.exe" AND command_line:"--type=*" AND NOT command_line:"--type=renderer")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-0790

CVSS v3 Score: 9.6 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-416

Published: April 5, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1274077 Issue Tracking,Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25 Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1274077 Issue Tracking,Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25 Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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