CVE-2022-2857 is a high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in the Blink rendering engine component of Google Chrome versions prior to 104.0.5112.101. The vulnerability arises from improper memory management where a previously freed object is accessed, leading to heap corruption. An attacker can exploit this flaw by crafting a malicious HTML page that, when loaded by a victim's browser, triggers the use-after-free condition. This can result in arbitrary code execution, allowing the attacker to execute code with the privileges of the user running Chrome. The vulnerability does not require any privileges or authentication but does require user interaction in the form of visiting a malicious webpage. The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8 reflects the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction necessary. Although no known exploits in the wild have been reported, the nature of the vulnerability and its presence in a widely used browser make it a significant threat. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-362 (Race Condition), indicating a concurrency issue leading to unsafe memory access. The flaw was publicly disclosed on September 26, 2022, and fixed in Chrome version 104.0.5112.101 and later releases.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk due to the widespread use of Google Chrome as the primary web browser in enterprises and public sectors. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution, enabling attackers to compromise user systems, steal sensitive data, or deploy malware such as ransomware. Given that the attack vector is a crafted webpage, phishing campaigns or malicious advertisements could be leveraged to target employees. This can result in data breaches, disruption of services, and potential regulatory non-compliance under GDPR if personal data is exposed. The vulnerability affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, potentially impacting critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and government agencies across Europe. The requirement for user interaction means that user awareness and training are important but not sufficient alone to mitigate risk. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, as proof-of-concept exploits could emerge.

European organizations should prioritize updating Google Chrome to version 104.0.5112.101 or later immediately to remediate this vulnerability. Beyond patching, organizations should implement network-level protections such as web filtering to block access to known malicious sites and employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious browser behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. User education programs should emphasize the risks of interacting with untrusted links and attachments. Deploying browser isolation technologies can reduce the risk of exploitation by isolating web content execution from the endpoint. Organizations should also enforce strict content security policies (CSP) to limit the execution of untrusted scripts and consider disabling or restricting JavaScript execution where feasible. Regular vulnerability scanning and penetration testing should include checks for outdated browsers and exploitation attempts. Incident response plans must be updated to address potential exploitation scenarios involving browser vulnerabilities.