CVE-2020-6386 – This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the s... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-6386?

CVE-2020-6386 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the speech component of Google Chrome that allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. It affects Chrome users on all platforms who haven't updated to version 80.0.3987.116 or later.

📋 TL;DR

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the speech component of Google Chrome that allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. It affects Chrome users on all platforms who haven't updated to version 80.0.3987.116 or later.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome
Chromium-based browsers

Versions: All versions prior to 80.0.3987.116

Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All default Chrome configurations are vulnerable. Affects both desktop and mobile versions.

📦 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 leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution in browser sandbox.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if patched or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Attackers can exploit via malicious websites without user interaction beyond visiting the site.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users could be targeted via phishing or compromised internal sites.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Use-after-free vulnerabilities in Chrome are frequently exploited in the wild. The bug report suggests active exploitation was occurring.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 80.0.3987.116

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.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 speech synthesis API

all

Disable the Web Speech API that contains the vulnerable component

chrome://flags/#enable-speech-synthesis
Set to 'Disabled'

Use browser extensions to block scripts

all

Use NoScript or similar extensions to block JavaScript execution on untrusted sites

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Use alternative browsers until Chrome can be updated
Implement network filtering to block access to known malicious sites

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: If version is less than 80.0.3987.116, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

On Chrome: chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on command line

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 80.0.3987.116 or higher after update.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with speech synthesis errors
Unexpected Chrome process termination

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests to sites with unusual speech API usage patterns

SIEM Query:

source="chrome" AND (event="crash" OR error="speech" OR error="synthesis")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-6386

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-416

Published: February 27, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0738 Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1043603 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6IOHSO6BUKC6I66J5PZOMAGFVJ66ZS57/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X3B5RWJQD5LA45MYLLR55KZJOJ5NVZGP/
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4638 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0738 Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1043603 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6IOHSO6BUKC6I66J5PZOMAGFVJ66ZS57/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X3B5RWJQD5LA45MYLLR55KZJOJ5NVZGP/
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4638 Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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