CVE-2022-1481
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's Sharing feature on macOS that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can craft malicious HTML pages that, when visited by users who perform specific interactions, could lead to arbitrary code execution. Affects Chrome users on macOS who haven't updated to patched versions.
💻 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 the privileges of the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited information disclosure; successful RCE requires specific user interaction and exploit reliability.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if users avoid suspicious websites and interactions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires convincing users to engage in specific interactions on a malicious page; no public exploit code is known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 101.0.4951.41 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_26.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click the three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for updates and install version 101.0.4951.41 or later. 4. Restart Chrome when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allPrevents execution of malicious JavaScript that could trigger the vulnerability.
chrome://settings/content/javascript → toggle off
Use Site Isolation
allEnables site isolation to limit impact of potential exploits.
chrome://flags/#site-isolation-trial-opt-out → set to 'Disabled'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Switch to an alternative browser until Chrome can be updated.
- Implement network filtering to block access to suspicious websites.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: if on macOS and version is less than 101.0.4951.41, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
open -a "Google Chrome" --args --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 101.0.4951.41 or higher via About Google Chrome.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash logs with memory corruption errors
- Unusual process spawning from Chrome
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="memory_error")🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_26.html
- https://crbug.com/1302949
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_26.html
- https://crbug.com/1302949
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25
