CVE-2020-15967
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's payments component that allows a remote attacker to potentially escape the browser sandbox via a crafted HTML page. It affects Google Chrome versions prior to 86.0.4240.75. Users who visit malicious websites with vulnerable Chrome versions are at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
📦 What is this software?
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...
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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through sandbox escape leading to arbitrary code execution with user privileges.
Likely Case
Remote code execution within the browser context, potentially leading to data theft, malware installation, or further system exploitation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if sandbox holds, but browser compromise could still lead to session hijacking or credential theft.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting malicious page) but no authentication. No public exploit code available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 86.0.4240.75
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/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.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allTemporarily disable JavaScript to prevent exploitation via malicious web pages
Use alternative browser
allSwitch to a non-vulnerable browser until Chrome is updated
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network filtering to block access to untrusted websites
- Use application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version in menu → Help → About Google Chrome. If version is below 86.0.4240.75, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
google-chrome --version (Linux) or open chrome://version in browserVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 86.0.4240.75 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with payments component
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes
- Traffic to known malicious domains
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR process_name="chrome.exe") AND version<"86.0.4240.75"🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00016.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1127322
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/24QFL4C3AZKMFVL7LVSYMU2DNE5VVUGS/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4GWCWNHTTYOH6HSFUXPGPBB6J6JYZHZE/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SC3U3H6AISVZB5PLZLLNF4HMQ4UFFL7M/
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00016.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1127322
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/24QFL4C3AZKMFVL7LVSYMU2DNE5VVUGS/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4GWCWNHTTYOH6HSFUXPGPBB6J6JYZHZE/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SC3U3H6AISVZB5PLZLLNF4HMQ4UFFL7M/
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
