CVE-2020-15960
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability is a heap buffer overflow in Google Chrome's storage component that allows remote attackers to potentially perform out-of-bounds memory access via a crafted HTML page. It affects all users running Chrome versions prior to 85.0.4183.121. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution or browser crashes.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
📦 What is this software?
Backports Sle by Opensuse
Backports Sle by Opensuse
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...
Learn more about Chrome →Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Leap by Opensuse
Leap by Opensuse
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with the same privileges as the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise if Chrome is running with elevated privileges.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited memory corruption leading to information disclosure.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting malicious HTML pages, but no public proof-of-concept has been released.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 85.0.4183.121 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu. 2. Go to Help > About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for updates and install version 85.0.4183.121 or later. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allPrevents execution of malicious JavaScript that could trigger the vulnerability
chrome://settings/content/javascript
Use Site Isolation
allEnables site isolation to limit impact of memory corruption
chrome://flags/#enable-site-per-process
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative browsers until Chrome can be updated
- Implement web filtering to block known malicious sites
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 85.0.4183.121, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on LinuxVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 85.0.4183.121 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Memory access violation errors in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event="crash" OR event="memory_violation")🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00087.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00095.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00096.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00049.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
- https://crbug.com/1100136
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FN7HZIGAOCZKBT4LV363BCPRA5FLY25I/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GNIYFJST4TFJYFZ27VODBOINCLBGULTD/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YWNBJFBPKYCYSZTS54FHNCRZG6KC2AIJ/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202009-13
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00087.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00095.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00096.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00049.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
- https://crbug.com/1100136
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FN7HZIGAOCZKBT4LV363BCPRA5FLY25I/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GNIYFJST4TFJYFZ27VODBOINCLBGULTD/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YWNBJFBPKYCYSZTS54FHNCRZG6KC2AIJ/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202009-13
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
