Microsoft Vulnerability Research Advisory MSVR12-008

Vulnerability in Google Chrome Could Allow Local Code Execution

Published: June 19, 2012

Version: 1.0

Overview

Executive Summary

Microsoft is providing notification of the discovery and remediation of a vulnerability affecting Google Chrome version 17.0.963.79 and earlier versions. Microsoft discovered and disclosed the vulnerability under coordinated vulnerability disclosure to the affected vendor, Google. Google has remediated the vulnerability in their software.

A local code execution vulnerability exists in Google Chrome due to the insecure loading of NPAPI plugins on Chrome. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

Microsoft Vulnerability Research reported this issue to and coordinated with Google to ensure remediation of this issue. The vulnerability has been assigned the entry, CVE-2011-3098, in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list. For more information, including information about updates from Google, see Google Chrome Releases for May 15, 2012.

Mitigating Factors

• An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
• This vulnerability requires that a specially crafted file be placed within one of the searched plugin directories used by Google Chrome. An attacker would need sufficient access rights to place a specially crafted file on a target system.

Advisory Details

Purpose and Recommendation

Purpose of Advisory: To notify users of a vulnerability and its remediation.

Advisory Status: Advisory published.

Recommendation: Review the Suggested Actions section and configure as appropriate.

Issue References

For more information about this issue, see the following references:

Affected and Non-Affected Software

This advisory discusses the following software:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the scope of this advisory?
This advisory is part of a coordinated release with affected vendors to inform customers of a security issue that may affect their systems.

Is this a security vulnerability that requires Microsoft to issue a security update?
No. This vulnerability has been fixed via an update from the affected third-party vendors. The update remediates the software listed in the table, Affected Software.

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a local code execution vulnerability.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability is caused by the way that Google Chrome looks for MIME type definitions within user controlled locations.

What might an attacker use this vulnerability to do?
An attacker can leverage this issue to execute code in the security context of the current user.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
This vulnerability requires that a specially crafted file be placed within one of the searched plugin directories used by Google Chrome.

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a malicious plugin file within one of the searched plugin directories used by Google Chrome, and then by convincing a user to access a webpage requiring the MIME type pointed to in the malicious Plugin file.

Suggested Actions

Update to the latest version of Google Chrome.

Other Information

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following:

• Haifei Li of Microsoft and Google Inc. for working toward a resolution

Disclaimer

The information provided in this advisory is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

Revisions

• V1.0 (June 19, 2012): Advisory published.

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