CVE-2023-3598
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to exploit heap corruption through out-of-bounds read/write in ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine) in Google Chrome. Attackers can craft malicious HTML pages to potentially execute arbitrary code or crash the browser. All users running vulnerable versions of Chrome are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
📦 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 installation of persistent malware.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited memory corruption leading to information disclosure.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires user to visit malicious website or open crafted HTML content. No authentication needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 114.0.5735.90 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_30.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 WebGL
allDisables ANGLE functionality by turning off WebGL rendering
chrome://flags/#disable-webgl → Disable
chrome://flags/#disable-accelerated-2d-canvas → Disable
Use Chrome Enterprise policies
windowsBlock WebGL via Group Policy or administrative templates
Set 'BlockWebGL' policy to enabled
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use browser isolation technology to render web content in isolated containers
- Implement strict web filtering to block untrusted sites and HTML content
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: if below 114.0.5735.90, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ (look for 'Google Chrome' version number)Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 114.0.5735.90 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with ANGLE-related stack traces
- Unexpected Chrome process termination events
Network Indicators:
- Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
- Unusual WebGL-related network traffic patterns
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR process_name="chrome.exe") AND message="*ANGLE*" OR "*WebGL*"🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_30.html
- https://crbug.com/1427865
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2LE64KGGOISKPKMYROSDT4K6QFVDIRF6/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/B6SAST6CB5KKCQKH75ER2UQ3ICYPHCIZ/
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2023/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_30.html
- https://crbug.com/1427865
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2LE64KGGOISKPKMYROSDT4K6QFVDIRF6/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/B6SAST6CB5KKCQKH75ER2UQ3ICYPHCIZ/
