CVE-2019-13730 – This is a type confusion vulnerability in Chrom... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2019-13730?

CVE-2019-13730 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This is a type confusion vulnerability in Chrome's JavaScript engine that could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause heap corruption. It affects users running Google Chrome versions prior to 79.0.3945.79. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage.

📋 TL;DR

This is a type confusion vulnerability in Chrome's JavaScript engine that could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause heap corruption. It affects users running Google Chrome versions prior to 79.0.3945.79. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome
Chromium-based browsers

Versions: All versions prior to 79.0.3945.79

Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All default Chrome configurations are vulnerable. Other Chromium-based browsers may also be affected.

📦 What is this software?

Backports by Opensuse

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Chrome by Google

Google Chrome is the world's most popular web browser, used by over 3 billion users globally across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms. As a Chromium-based browser developed by Google, Chrome dominates the browser market with approximately 65% market share, making it a critical compon...

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution within browser sandbox.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Exploitable via malicious websites, making internet-facing systems with vulnerable browsers at significant risk.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users could be targeted via phishing or compromised internal websites.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting malicious page). Type confusion vulnerabilities are commonly exploited in browser attacks.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 79.0.3945.79 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2019/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open Chrome. 2. Click menu (three dots) → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable JavaScript

all

Temporarily disable JavaScript to prevent exploitation, but will break most websites.

chrome://settings/content/javascript → Block

Use browser sandboxing

all

Run Chrome in sandboxed environment to limit potential damage.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Block access to untrusted websites using web filtering/proxy
Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: If version is less than 79.0.3945.79, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

On Chrome: chrome://version or 'google-chrome --version' in terminal

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 79.0.3945.79 or higher after update.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with memory corruption errors
Unexpected browser process termination

Network Indicators:

Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
Unusual outbound connections after visiting suspicious sites

SIEM Query:

source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR message="*corruption*" OR message="*type confusion*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2019-13730

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-787

Published: December 10, 2019

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-12/msg00032.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-12/msg00036.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:4238 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2019/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1028862 Permissions Required
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2Z5M4FPUMDNX2LDPHJKN5ZV5GIS2AKNU/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/N5CIQCVS6E3ULJCNU7YJXJPO2BLQZDTK/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/27 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-08 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4606 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-12/msg00032.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-12/msg00036.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:4238 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2019/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1028862 Permissions Required
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2Z5M4FPUMDNX2LDPHJKN5ZV5GIS2AKNU/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/N5CIQCVS6E3ULJCNU7YJXJPO2BLQZDTK/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/27 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-08 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4606 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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