CVE-2018-17481: Use After Free

Q: What is CVE-2018-17481?

CVE-2018-17481 is a vulnerability in PDFium in Google Chrome prior to version 71.0.3578.98 that allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted PDF file.

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2018-17481?

CVE-2018-17481 has a severity score of 8.8 and is considered high.

Q: Which software versions are affected by CVE-2018-17481?

Google Chrome prior to version 71.0.3578.98, Redhat Linux Desktop 6.0, Redhat Linux Server 6.0, Redhat Linux Workstation 6.0, and Debian Debian Linux 9.0 are affected by CVE-2018-17481.

Q: How can an attacker exploit CVE-2018-17481?

An attacker can potentially exploit CVE-2018-17481 by using a crafted PDF file to trigger heap corruption.

Q: How can I fix CVE-2018-17481?

To fix CVE-2018-17481, update Google Chrome to version 71.0.3578.98 or later, or apply the appropriate security patches from Redhat or Debian.

Published Dec 5, 2018

Updated

An use after frees flaw was found in the PDFium component of the Chromium browser.

Upstream bug(s):

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=901654

External References:

https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2018/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html

Other sources

Incorrect object lifecycle handling in PDFium in Google Chrome prior to 71.0.3578.98 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted PDF file.

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available

redhat/chromium-browser<71.0.3578.80

71.0.3578.80

Google Chrome<71.0.3578.98

71.0.3578.98

Google Chrome<71.0.3578.98

redhat Linux Desktop=6.0

redhat Linux Server=6.0

redhat Linux Workstation=6.0

Debian Debian Linux=9.0

debian/chromium

150.0.7871.100-1~deb12u1156.0.8078.73-1~deb12u1150.0.7871.181-1~deb13u1156.0.8078.73-1~deb13u1156.0.8078.47-1156.0.8078.79-1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

Upgrade
Upgrade redhat/chromium-browser to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 71.0.3578.80
Upgrade
Upgrade Google Chrome (Trace Event) to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 71.0.3578.98
Upgrade
Upgrade debian/chromium to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 150.0.7871.100-1~deb12u1Fixed in 156.0.8078.73-1~deb12u1Fixed in 150.0.7871.181-1~deb13u1Fixed in 156.0.8078.73-1~deb13u1Fixed in 156.0.8078.47-1Fixed in 156.0.8078.79-1
Upgrade
Upgrade Google Chrome to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 71.0.3578.98

Event History

Dec 11, 2018

CVE Published

via MITRE·03:00 PM

Data Sourced

via MITRE·03:00 PM

DescriptionWeakness

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-17481?