CVE-2020-6559
📋 TL;DR
This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's Presentation API that allows remote attackers to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. Attackers could execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. All users running vulnerable Chrome versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Google Chrome
📦 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
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 code execution in browser sandbox.
If Mitigated
No impact if Chrome is fully patched or workarounds are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires heap manipulation techniques but is remotely triggerable via web content.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 85.0.4183.83 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_25.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 update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Presentation API
allDisable the vulnerable Presentation API feature via Chrome flags
chrome://flags/#enable-presentation-api
Set to 'Disabled'
Use alternative browser
allTemporarily use a different browser until Chrome is updated
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network filtering to block malicious websites
- Use application control to restrict Chrome execution in high-risk environments
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Chrome version: If version is below 85.0.4183.83, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Chrome: chrome://version/ or 'google-chrome --version' on command lineVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Chrome version is 85.0.4183.83 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Chrome crash reports with memory corruption signatures
- Unexpected Presentation API usage
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to known exploit domains
- Unusual Presentation API web traffic
SIEM Query:
source="chrome_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="memory_corruption") AND version<"85.0.4183.83"🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00072.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00078.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00081.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_25.html
- https://crbug.com/1116706
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EE7XWIZBME7JAY7N6CGPET4CLNHHEIVT/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00072.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00078.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00081.html
- https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_25.html
- https://crbug.com/1116706
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EE7XWIZBME7JAY7N6CGPET4CLNHHEIVT/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-30
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4824
