27% of tested Google Chrome extensions allow data theft
27 of a 100 tested Google Chrome extensions have been found vulnerable to data (passwords, history, etc.) extraction attacks though specially crafted malicious websites or by attackers on public WiFi networks.
A trio of security researchers have manually analyzed 50 of the most popular Chrome extensions and added to that list 50 more chosen by random.
"We looked for JavaScript injection vulnerabilities in the cores of the extensions (the background, popup, and options pages); script injection into a core allows the complete takeover of an extension," explained Adrienne Porter Felt, one of the researchers. To prove their claim, they performed PoC attacks devised to take advantage of the vulnerabilities.
