CVE-2020-6429 – This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrom... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-6429?

CVE-2020-6429 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's audio component that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can trigger this by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. All Chrome users prior to version 80.0.3987.149 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's audio component that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can trigger this by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. All Chrome users prior to version 80.0.3987.149 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome

Versions: All versions prior to 80.0.3987.149

Operating Systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All standard Chrome installations are vulnerable. Extensions or security settings don't mitigate this vulnerability.

📦 What is this software?

Backports Sle by Opensuse

View all CVEs affecting Backports Sle →

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 within browser sandbox.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if Chrome is fully 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 page.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires user to visit malicious internal site or compromised legitimate site.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires bypassing Chrome's sandbox and other security mitigations, but use-after-free vulnerabilities are commonly exploited in browser attacks.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 80.0.3987.149 and later

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 update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable JavaScript

all

Prevents exploitation since the vulnerability requires JavaScript execution.

chrome://settings/content/javascript → Block

Use Site Isolation

all

Limits impact by isolating websites in separate processes.

chrome://flags/#enable-site-per-process → Enable

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict web browsing to trusted sites only using browser policies or extensions.
Deploy web filtering/proxy solutions to block malicious sites and monitor for exploitation attempts.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: Open Chrome → Click three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome. If version is below 80.0.3987.149, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

On Windows: "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --version
On macOS: /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version
On Linux: google-chrome --version

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify Chrome version is 80.0.3987.149 or higher using the same About Google Chrome page.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports with audio-related stack traces
Unexpected Chrome process termination events

Network Indicators:

Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
Unusual outbound connections after visiting suspicious sites

SIEM Query:

source="chrome_crash_logs" AND (message="audio" OR message="use-after-free") OR process_name="chrome.exe" AND event_type="process_crash"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-6429

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-787

Published: March 23, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00028.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00037.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1057627 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
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 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4645 Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00028.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-03/msg00037.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1057627 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
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 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4645 Third Party Advisory

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📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Backports Sle by Opensuse

Chrome by Google

Debian Linux by Debian

Debian Linux by Debian

Fedora by Fedoraproject

Fedora by Fedoraproject

Fedora by Fedoraproject

Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop by Suse

Suse Linux Enterprise Server by Suse

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable JavaScript

Use Site Isolation

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities