Overview
CVE-2025-5958 is a high-severity vulnerability discovered in Google Chrome, specifically within the Media functionality of the browser. This vulnerability, if exploited, allows a remote attacker to potentially corrupt the heap memory and execute arbitrary code within the context of the browser. Given the widespread use of Google Chrome globally, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to millions of users, and it is of utmost importance that necessary mitigation steps are taken promptly to prevent potential system compromises or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-5958
Severity: High (CVSS: 8.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Google Chrome | Prior to 137.0.7151.103
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome’s Media component. In computer programming, ‘use after free’ refers to the attempt to access memory after it has been freed, which can cause a program to crash or, as in this case, can potentially allow the execution of arbitrary code.
An attacker can craft a malicious HTML page to trigger this vulnerability. Once a user opens this page in a vulnerable version of Chrome, the attacker can corrupt the heap memory. This could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of the browser, potentially leading to full system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how a malicious HTML page might be crafted:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<script>
// Malicious JavaScript code that exploits the vulnerability
var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(100);
var dataview = new DataView(buffer);
dataview.setFloat32(0, 0.1); // This causes use-after-free
// More malicious code that uses the corruption to execute arbitrary commands
</script>
</body>
</html>Please note that this is a simplified and conceptual example and the actual exploit might be much more complex and obfuscated.
Mitigation Guidance
Users are strongly recommended to update their Google Chrome browser to version 137.0.7151.103 or later, which contains a patch for this vulnerability. As a temporary mitigation, users could employ the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. However, these are only temporary measures and updating to a patched version of the browser is the most effective solution.