CVE-2020-15995
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write in Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. It affects Google Chrome versions prior to 86.0.4240.99, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Users who haven't updated Chrome are vulnerable when visiting malicious websites.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
- Android Chrome
📦 What is this software?
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
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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with the privileges of the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise if combined with privilege escalation vulnerabilities.
Likely Case
Browser crash or arbitrary code execution within the Chrome sandbox, potentially leading to data theft, cryptocurrency mining, or installation of malware.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to Chrome's sandboxing, potentially just browser crashes or denial of service.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting a malicious website). The bug report suggests this could be used for remote code execution.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 86.0.4240.99 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/chrome-for-android-update_31.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click the three-dot menu. 3. Go to Help > About Google Chrome. 4. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 5. Click Relaunch to restart Chrome with the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allTemporarily disable JavaScript in Chrome settings to prevent exploitation via malicious websites.
Use Site Isolation
allEnsure Chrome's Site Isolation feature is enabled to limit the impact of potential exploits.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to untrusted websites using web filtering or proxy controls.
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized binaries that might be dropped by exploits.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 86.0.4240.99, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on Linux/macOS command lineVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 86.0.4240.99 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Unexpected process terminations
- Sandbox escape attempts in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Connections to known malicious domains serving exploit code
- Unusual outbound traffic from Chrome processes
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR process_name="chrome.exe" AND parent_process!="explorer.exe")🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/chrome-for-android-update_31.html
- https://crbug.com/1132111
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VVUWIJKZTZTG6G475OR6PP4WPQBVM6PS/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z6P6AVVFP7B2M4H7TJQBASRZIBLOTUFN/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-05
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4832
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/chrome-for-android-update_31.html
- https://crbug.com/1132111
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VVUWIJKZTZTG6G475OR6PP4WPQBVM6PS/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z6P6AVVFP7B2M4H7TJQBASRZIBLOTUFN/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-05
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4832
