CVE-2023-1818 – This vulnerability is a use-after-free memory c... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-1818?

CVE-2023-1818 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This vulnerability is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw in Chrome's Vulkan graphics implementation. It allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause crashes by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. All Chrome users on versions before 112.0.5615.49 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw in Chrome's Vulkan graphics implementation. It allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause crashes by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. All Chrome users on versions before 112.0.5615.49 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome
Chromium-based browsers

Versions: All versions prior to 112.0.5615.49

Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires Vulkan graphics support; most modern systems with Chrome are vulnerable by default.

📦 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 leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Browser crash or denial of service; potential for limited code execution in sandboxed context.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Exploitable via malicious websites without user interaction beyond visiting the page.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires user to visit malicious internal site; lower exposure than internet-facing.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Memory corruption vulnerabilities require precise heap manipulation; Chrome's sandbox adds complexity.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 112.0.5615.49 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open Chrome. 2. Click menu → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart with the patched version.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Vulkan backend

all

Force Chrome to use alternative graphics APIs instead of Vulkan

chrome --disable-features=Vulkan

Disable GPU acceleration

all

Completely disable hardware acceleration to avoid graphics-related vulnerabilities

chrome --disable-gpu

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Deploy web filtering to block known malicious sites and suspicious domains.
Implement application control to restrict execution of unauthorized processes from browser context.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: if below 112.0.5615.49, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on Linux

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 112.0.5615.49 or higher after update.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with Vulkan-related stack traces
Unexpected process termination of chrome.exe or chrome renderer processes

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests to suspicious domains followed by Chrome crashes
Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes

SIEM Query:

source="chrome_crash_reports" AND (message="*Vulkan*" OR message="*use-after-free*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-1818

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: April 4, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1223346 Issue Tracking,Permissions Required,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FG3CRADL7IL5IHK4NCHG4LAYLKHFXETX/ Mailing List
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HO3QZY4UQFP4XNF43ILMVVOABMB7KAQ5/ Mailing List
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202309-17 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5386 Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1223346 Issue Tracking,Permissions Required,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FG3CRADL7IL5IHK4NCHG4LAYLKHFXETX/ Mailing List
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HO3QZY4UQFP4XNF43ILMVVOABMB7KAQ5/ Mailing List
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202309-17 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5386 Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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