CVE-2020-6465 – CVE-2020-6465 is a use-after-free vulnerability... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-6465?

CVE-2020-6465 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (CRITICAL). CVE-2020-6465 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's reader mode on Android that allows a compromised renderer process to escape the browser sandbox. Attackers can exploit this via a malicious HTML page to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. This affects Android users running Chrome versions before 83.0.4103.61.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2020-6465 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's reader mode on Android that allows a compromised renderer process to escape the browser sandbox. Attackers can exploit this via a malicious HTML page to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. This affects Android users running Chrome versions before 83.0.4103.61.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome for Android

Versions: Versions prior to 83.0.4103.61

Operating Systems: Android

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects Chrome's reader mode feature on Android devices. Desktop and iOS versions are not vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

Backports Sle by Opensuse

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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

Full device compromise allowing installation of malware, data theft, and persistence on the Android device.

🟠

Likely Case

Sandbox escape leading to arbitrary code execution within the browser context, potentially accessing sensitive browser data and performing actions as the browser user.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if Chrome is fully patched, as the vulnerability is fixed in version 83.0.4103.61 and later.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires compromising the renderer process first, then exploiting the use-after-free to escape the sandbox. The bug report suggests this was discovered through fuzzing.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 83.0.4103.61

Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open Google Play Store on Android device. 2. Search for 'Chrome'. 3. If update is available, tap 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, enable auto-updates in Play Store settings. 5. Restart Chrome after update completes.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Reader Mode

android

Disable Chrome's reader mode feature to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.

chrome://flags/#enable-reader-mode
Set to 'Disabled'

Use Alternative Browser

android

Temporarily use a different browser until Chrome is updated.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable Chrome's reader mode via chrome://flags/#enable-reader-mode
Restrict access to untrusted websites and implement network filtering to block malicious content

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Open Chrome on Android, go to Settings > About Chrome. Check if version is below 83.0.4103.61.

Check Version:

chrome://version/

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 83.0.4103.61 or higher in Settings > About Chrome.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Chrome crash reports related to reader mode
Unexpected process creation from Chrome renderer

Network Indicators:

Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit HTML
Unusual outbound connections from Chrome processes

SIEM Query:

source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR process_name="chrome_renderer") AND message="reader_mode"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-6465

CVSS v3 Score: 9.6 (CRITICAL)

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

CWE: CWE-416

Published: May 21, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00034.html Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00038.html Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1073015 Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OQYH5OK7O4BU6E37WWG5SEEHV65BFSGR/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WLFZ5N4EK6I4ZJP5YSKLLVN3ELXEB4XT/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202006-02 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4714 Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00034.html Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00038.html Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_19.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1073015 Permissions Required,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OQYH5OK7O4BU6E37WWG5SEEHV65BFSGR/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WLFZ5N4EK6I4ZJP5YSKLLVN3ELXEB4XT/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202006-02 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4714 Third Party Advisory

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