CVE-2020-16005
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Chrome's ANGLE graphics engine allows attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption through a malicious HTML page. It affects Chrome users on all platforms prior to version 86.0.4240.183. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
📦 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
Leap by Opensuse
Leap by Opensuse
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Browser crash or limited memory corruption leading to denial of service.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting malicious page) but no authentication. Heap corruption vulnerabilities can be challenging to weaponize reliably.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 86.0.4240.183 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.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 update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WebGL
allPrevents ANGLE from being used by disabling WebGL functionality
chrome://flags → Search 'WebGL' → Set 'WebGL 2.0' to Disabled
Use Chrome sandboxing
allEnsure Chrome sandbox is enabled to limit impact of potential exploitation
chrome://flags → Search 'sandbox' → Ensure all sandbox options are Enabled
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web filtering to block known malicious sites
- Use application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: chrome://version and verify it's below 86.0.4240.183Check Version:
chrome://version (in Chrome address bar) or 'google-chrome --version' on Linux command lineVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 86.0.4240.183 or higher via chrome://version📡 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" AND (event_type="crash" OR error="access_violation")🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00016.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00017.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1139398
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/S4XYJ7B6OXHZNYSA5J3DBUOFEC6WCAGW/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SC3U3H6AISVZB5PLZLLNF4HMQ4UFFL7M/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202011-12
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00016.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00017.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1139398
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/S4XYJ7B6OXHZNYSA5J3DBUOFEC6WCAGW/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SC3U3H6AISVZB5PLZLLNF4HMQ4UFFL7M/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202011-12
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
