CVE-2020-16026
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's WebRTC component that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can trigger this by tricking users into visiting a malicious HTML page, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. All users running vulnerable versions of Google Chrome are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google 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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with the same privileges as the Chrome process, potentially leading to full system compromise if Chrome is running with elevated privileges.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution within the Chrome sandbox, potentially allowing data theft or further exploitation.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched 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 exploit reliably.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 87.0.4280.66
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_17.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 WebRTC
allDisable WebRTC functionality in Chrome to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.
chrome://flags/#disable-webrtc
Use Chrome Enterprise policies
allDeploy Chrome Enterprise policies to disable WebRTC or enforce security settings.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative browsers without the vulnerability
- Implement network filtering to block malicious websites and restrict browser usage
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 87.0.4280.66, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 87.0.4280.66 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Unexpected process termination
- Memory access violation errors
Network Indicators:
- Requests to suspicious domains hosting malicious HTML pages
- Unusual WebRTC traffic patterns
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR message="*WebRTC*" OR message="*memory*corruption*")