CVE-2020-16003
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw in Google Chrome's printing component. It allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. All Chrome users on affected versions are vulnerable.
💻 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 Chrome's sandbox.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to visit a crafted HTML page; no authentication needed.
🛠️ 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 the 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 Chrome auto-updates (temporary)
allPrevents Chrome from updating automatically, but this is NOT recommended as it leaves systems vulnerable. Use only if patching immediately isn't possible and combined with other controls.
Windows: Disable via Group Policy or registry. Linux: Hold package with apt-mark hold google-chrome-stable. macOS: Remove update permissions.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use browser isolation or sandboxing technologies to contain potential exploits.
- Block access to untrusted websites via web filtering or firewall rules.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: if below 86.0.4240.111, it's vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ in Chrome address bar, or on command line: google-chrome --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 86.0.4240.111 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash logs with memory corruption errors, unexpected process terminations.
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Chrome post-visiting a webpage, exploit kit traffic patterns.
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="memory_error") 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/1134960
- 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/1134960
- 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
