CVE-2022-2163 – This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Googl... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-2163?

CVE-2022-2163 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's Cast UI and Toolbar components. An attacker who convinces a user to install a malicious extension could exploit heap corruption through UI interactions, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Users running Chrome versions prior to 103.0.5060.134 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's Cast UI and Toolbar components. An attacker who convinces a user to install a malicious extension could exploit heap corruption through UI interactions, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Users running Chrome versions prior to 103.0.5060.134 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome

Versions: All versions prior to 103.0.5060.134

Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, macOS, ChromeOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires user to install a malicious extension and perform specific UI interactions in Cast/toolbar components.

📦 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 arbitrary code execution with user privileges, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.

🟠

Likely Case

Browser crash or limited memory corruption due to the requirement of user installing a malicious extension and specific UI interactions.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or malicious extensions are prevented from installation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM

🏢 Internal Only: LOW

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires social engineering to install malicious extension plus specific user interactions with Cast UI/toolbar.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 103.0.5060.134 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.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 with the update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Chrome auto-updates

all

Prevent automatic updates to maintain controlled patching schedule

# Linux: sudo apt-mark hold google-chrome-stable
# Windows: Use Group Policy to disable auto-update

Restrict extension installation

all

Prevent users from installing extensions to block the attack vector

# Chrome policy: ExtensionInstallBlocklist set to *
# Enterprise: Use Chrome Enterprise policies

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable Chrome Cast feature via chrome://flags/#media-router
Implement application allowlisting to block unapproved Chrome versions

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version in Settings → About Chrome. If version is below 103.0.5060.134, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

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

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 103.0.5060.134 or higher after update and restart.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with memory corruption signatures
Unexpected extension installation events
Chrome process spawning unusual child processes

Network Indicators:

Connections to known malicious extension repositories
Unusual outbound traffic from Chrome processes

SIEM Query:

source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="extension_install") AND version<"103.0.5060.134"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-2163

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-416

Published: July 28, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1308341 Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5BQRTR4SIUNIHLLPWTGYSDNQK7DYCRSB/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/H2C4XOJVIILDXTOSMWJXHSQNEXFWSOD7/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-35 Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2022/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1308341 Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5BQRTR4SIUNIHLLPWTGYSDNQK7DYCRSB/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/H2C4XOJVIILDXTOSMWJXHSQNEXFWSOD7/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-25 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-35 Third Party Advisory

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