CVE-2020-6530 – This vulnerability allows an attacker to exploi... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-6530?

CVE-2020-6530 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows an attacker to exploit heap corruption through out-of-bounds memory access in Chrome's developer tools. Attackers can execute this by convincing users to install a malicious Chrome extension. All users running vulnerable Chrome versions are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows an attacker to exploit heap corruption through out-of-bounds memory access in Chrome's developer tools. Attackers can execute this by convincing users to install a malicious Chrome extension. All users running vulnerable Chrome versions are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Google Chrome

Versions: All versions prior to 84.0.4147.89

Operating Systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires user to install a malicious extension; default Chrome configuration is vulnerable if extension is installed.

📦 What is this software?

Backports Sle by Opensuse

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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...

Learn more about Chrome →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Full system compromise through arbitrary code execution, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or complete system control.

🟠

Likely Case

Limited privilege escalation within Chrome's sandbox, potentially accessing browser data, session cookies, and user credentials.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact if extensions are restricted to trusted sources and Chrome is fully patched.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Attackers can host malicious extensions on websites or distribute through social engineering.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction to install malicious extension, but internal phishing could facilitate exploitation.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires social engineering to install malicious extension; once installed, exploitation is relatively straightforward.

🛠️ 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 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 Developer Tools

all

Prevents exploitation by disabling the vulnerable developer tools component

chrome://flags/#enable-devtools-experiments → Disabled

Restrict Extension Installation

all

Only allow extensions from Chrome Web Store

chrome://extensions → Developer mode OFF
chrome://settings/content/extensions → Allow from Chrome Web Store only

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict extension whitelisting policies
Deploy endpoint protection that monitors for suspicious extension installation

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Chrome version: If version is below 84.0.4147.89, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

chrome://version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Chrome version is 84.0.4147.89 or higher.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unexpected extension installation events
Chrome crash reports with memory access violations

Network Indicators:

Downloads of extensions from non-Chrome Web Store sources

SIEM Query:

source="chrome_extension_logs" AND event="install" AND source_url NOT CONTAINS "chrome.google.com/webstore"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-6530

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: July 22, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00069.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00007.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00018.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00041.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1016278 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
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 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824 Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00069.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00007.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00018.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00041.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/07/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html Release Notes,Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1016278 Exploit,Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
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 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30 Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824 Third Party Advisory

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📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

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Backports Sle by Opensuse

Chrome by Google

Debian Linux by Debian

Fedora by Fedoraproject

Fedora by Fedoraproject

Leap by Opensuse

Leap by Opensuse

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Developer Tools

Restrict Extension Installation

🧯 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