CVE-2020-6459
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's payments component that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption. Attackers can craft malicious HTML pages to trigger this vulnerability, 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
Use-after-free vulnerabilities typically require specific heap manipulation techniques but can be reliably exploited by skilled attackers.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 81.0.4044.122 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu. 2. Go to 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
allTemporarily disable JavaScript to prevent exploitation via malicious web pages
chrome://settings/content/javascript
Use Chrome Enterprise policies
allDeploy Chrome updates via enterprise management tools
Use Google Admin Console or Group Policy to force Chrome updates
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative browsers until Chrome can be updated
- Implement network filtering to block known malicious sites and restrict web browsing
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is less than 81.0.4044.122, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on Linux/macOSVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Chrome version is 81.0.4044.122 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with memory corruption signatures
- Unexpected Chrome process termination
Network Indicators:
- Connections to suspicious domains hosting crafted HTML pages
- Unusual outbound traffic from Chrome processes
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR memory_corruption="true")🔗 References
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
- https://crbug.com/1065298
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4714
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/04/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html
- https://crbug.com/1065298
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4714
