CVE-2020-6422
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's WebGL implementation that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can trigger this by tricking users into visiting a malicious HTML page. All Chrome users prior to version 80.0.3987.149 are affected.
💻 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...
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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Browser crash (denial of service) or limited code execution within the browser sandbox.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or if WebGL is disabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting a malicious page) but no authentication. Use-after-free vulnerabilities in browsers often lead to reliable exploits.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 80.0.3987.149
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/03/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 patched version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WebGL
allPrevents exploitation by disabling the vulnerable component entirely.
Navigate to chrome://flags/#disable-webgl and set to 'Disabled'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative browsers without WebGL support until Chrome can be updated.
- Implement strict web filtering to block access to untrusted websites.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: if below 80.0.3987.149, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows/macOS/Linux: Open Chrome → Click three-dot menu → Help → About Google ChromeVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 80.0.3987.149 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash logs with WebGL-related errors
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to suspicious domains hosting HTML with WebGL content
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="process_termination") AND message="*WebGL*"🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00028.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00037.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html
- https://crbug.com/1051748
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2DDNOAGIX5D77TTHT6YPMVJ5WTXTCQEI/
- 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/JWANFIR3PYAL5RJQ4AO3ZS2DYMSF2ZGZ/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-53
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4645
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00028.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00037.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html
- https://crbug.com/1051748
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2DDNOAGIX5D77TTHT6YPMVJ5WTXTCQEI/
- 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/JWANFIR3PYAL5RJQ4AO3ZS2DYMSF2ZGZ/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-53
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4645
