CVE-2024-7971
📋 TL;DR
This is a type confusion vulnerability in Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine that allows remote attackers to trigger heap corruption via malicious HTML pages. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution or browser crashes. All users running vulnerable Chrome versions 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 →Edge by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with the same privileges as the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or malware installation.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution within the sandboxed renderer process.
If Mitigated
Browser crash only, with Chrome's sandbox preventing system-level compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Actively exploited in the wild by North Korean threat actor Citrine Sleet. Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting malicious website).
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 128.0.6613.84
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2024/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.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 JavaScript
allTemporarily disable JavaScript execution in Chrome to block exploitation vectors
Use Site Isolation
allEnsure Chrome's Site Isolation feature is enabled for additional protection
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to untrusted websites and use web filtering
- Deploy application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized browser execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version in Settings → About Chrome. If version is below 128.0.6613.84, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 128.0.6613.84 or higher in Settings → About Chrome.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Unexpected process termination events
- Security event logs showing exploit attempts
Network Indicators:
- Connections to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
- Unusual outbound traffic from Chrome processes
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR process_name="chrome.exe" AND suspicious_behavior)🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2024/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
- https://issues.chromium.org/issues/360700873
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/08/30/north-korean-threat-actor-citrine-sleet-exploiting-chromium-zero-day/
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-7971
