CVE-2020-6517
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-6517 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in Google Chrome's history component that allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via a crafted HTML page. This affects all users running vulnerable versions of Chrome who visit malicious websites.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
📦 What is this software?
Backports Sle by Opensuse
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...
Learn more about Chrome →Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Leap by Opensuse
Leap by Opensuse
⚠️ 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 memory corruption leading to instability.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is updated to patched version or if exploit attempts are blocked by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (visiting malicious website) but no authentication. Heap corruption vulnerabilities can be challenging to weaponize reliably.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 84.0.4147.89 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Chrome. 2. Click menu (three dots) > Help > About Google Chrome. 3. Chrome will automatically check for and install updates. 4. Click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the updated version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript
allPrevents execution of malicious JavaScript that could trigger the vulnerability
chrome://settings/content/javascript > Block
Use Site Isolation
allEnables Chrome's Site Isolation feature to limit impact of renderer process compromises
chrome://flags/#enable-site-per-process > Enable
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict web browsing to trusted sites only using browser policies or proxy filtering
- Deploy application control to block Chrome execution or force use of alternative browsers
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: if below 84.0.4147.89, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
chrome://version/ (on Chrome) or google-chrome --version (command line)Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 84.0.4147.89 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports
- Browser process termination events
- Unexpected Chrome restarts
Network Indicators:
- Requests to known malicious domains hosting exploit code
- Unusual outbound connections after visiting suspicious sites
SIEM Query:
source="chrome" AND (event_type="crash" OR message="*heap*" OR message="*buffer*overflow*")🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00069.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00007.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00018.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00041.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1095560
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MTRPPTKZ2RKVH2XGQCWNFZ7FOGQ5LLCA/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MYIDWCHG24ZTFD4P42D4A4WWPPA74BCG/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202007-08
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00069.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00007.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00018.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00041.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
- https://crbug.com/1095560
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MTRPPTKZ2RKVH2XGQCWNFZ7FOGQ5LLCA/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MYIDWCHG24ZTFD4P42D4A4WWPPA74BCG/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202007-08
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
