Overview
CVE-2025-13638 is a use-after-free vulnerability discovered in the Media Stream component of Google Chrome. This flaw, present in versions prior to 143.0.7499.41, could be exploited by a remote attacker to potentially cause heap corruption through a specially crafted HTML page. The Chromium security team has rated this vulnerability as having a “Low” severity.
Technical Details
A “use-after-free” vulnerability occurs when a program attempts to access memory after it has been freed. In the context of CVE-2025-13638, the vulnerability lies within Chrome’s Media Stream handling. A malicious actor could craft an HTML page designed to trigger the premature freeing of memory associated with a Media Stream object. Subsequent access to this freed memory could lead to heap corruption, potentially allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service.
The specifics of how the crafted HTML triggers this vulnerability are detailed within the Chromium bug report (see references below).
CVSS Analysis
Currently, a CVSS score has not been assigned to CVE-2025-13638. This is likely due to the complexity of exploiting the vulnerability and the “Low” severity rating assigned by the Chromium security team. Further analysis and public exploits might lead to a CVSS score being assigned in the future.
Possible Impact
While rated as “Low” severity, the exploitation of CVE-2025-13638 could still have detrimental effects. Successful exploitation could lead to:
- Heap Corruption: Instability and unpredictable behavior of the Chrome browser.
- Denial of Service: Crashing the browser or a specific tab.
- Potential Code Execution: Though less likely given the “Low” severity, a sophisticated attacker might leverage heap corruption to execute arbitrary code on the user’s machine.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The primary mitigation for CVE-2025-13638 is to update Google Chrome to version 143.0.7499.41 or later. Chrome typically updates automatically, but users can manually check for updates by:
- Clicking the three dots (Menu) in the upper-right corner of Chrome.
- Selecting “Help” -> “About Google Chrome”.
- Chrome will automatically check for and install any available updates.
- Restart Chrome to apply the updates.
Ensure that your Chrome browser is up-to-date to protect against this and other security vulnerabilities.
