Cyber Risks · Google Project Zero

Breaking the Chain

Summary: Google Project Zero's James Forshaw developed a Win32k system call lockdown mitigation for Chrome on Windows, shipping by default in Chrome M54 on Windows 10 after roughly two years of architectural work including replacing GDI-based font code with DirectWrite. The mitigation ended up blocking the sandbox escape of an exploit chain being used in the wild, and required brokering HDCP-related Win32k calls so DRM-protected video and Widevine content would still play.

Bottom line: The Hacking Team breach in July 2015 exposed an unfixed Chrome exploit chaining a Flash RCE to a Win32k sandbox escape, and Project Zero notes 31 Win32k issues from a single research project alone - the attack surface a sandbox leaves open is where real exploit chains finish.

Read the original at Google Project Zero ↗

Topics
Zero-Days & Exploits
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