CVE-2024-6778
📋 TL;DR
A race condition vulnerability in Chrome DevTools allowed malicious extensions to inject scripts or HTML into privileged pages. This affects users running Chrome versions before 126.0.6478.182 who install untrusted extensions.
💻 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
Complete compromise of browser session, theft of sensitive data, and execution of arbitrary code in privileged context.
Likely Case
Malicious extension steals session cookies, credentials, or manipulates privileged pages for phishing.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if users only install trusted extensions from official store and keep Chrome updated.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires convincing user to install malicious extension and timing race condition.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 126.0.6478.182
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2024/07/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 update. 4. Click Relaunch to restart Chrome.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Chrome Extensions
allTemporarily disable all extensions to prevent exploitation.
chrome://extensions/ → toggle off all extensions
Restrict Extension Installation
windowsConfigure Chrome policies to block extension installation.
Windows: Group Policy Editor → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Google → Google Chrome → Extensions → Configure extension installation whitelist
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Only install extensions from official Chrome Web Store with good ratings
- Review and remove any suspicious or unused extensions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version in About Google Chrome page; if below 126.0.6478.182, vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 126.0.6478.182 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual extension installation events
- Chrome crash reports related to DevTools
Network Indicators:
- Connections to suspicious extension update servers
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_extension_logs" AND event="install" AND extension_id NOT IN (approved_list)