CVE-2020-16001
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw in Chrome's media component that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. It affects all users running Chrome versions prior to 86.0.4240.111. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage.
💻 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...
Learn more about Chrome →Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
⚠️ 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 fully patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires crafting malicious HTML/JavaScript but doesn't require authentication. Public bug report includes technical details.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 86.0.4240.111 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_20.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the patched version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allTemporarily disable JavaScript to prevent exploitation via malicious web pages.
chrome://settings/content/javascript → Block
Use Chrome Sandbox
allEnsure Chrome sandbox is enabled to limit impact of successful exploitation.
Check chrome://sandbox/ for sandbox status
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to untrusted websites using web filtering or proxy controls.
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution from browser processes.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version in About Google Chrome page. If version is below 86.0.4240.111, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: "chrome://version/" in address bar. On Linux/macOS: google-chrome --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 86.0.4240.111 or higher in About Google Chrome page.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
- Memory access violation errors in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
- Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="access_violation") AND version<"86.0.4240.111"🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00016.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/10/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_20.html
- https://crbug.com/1135018
- 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://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- 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_20.html
- https://crbug.com/1135018
- 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://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
