ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2011-2851
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedGoogle Chrome before 14.0.835.163 does not properly handle video, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via unspecified vectors.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceGoogle Chrome before version 14.0.835.163 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its video handling component. Remote attackers can cause a denial of service by tricking users into visiting malicious web pages or viewing specially crafted video content that triggers the improper memory access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
ChromeWeb browser
< 14.0.835.163CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Chrome versionNavigate to chrome://version in the Chrome address bar and look at the 'Chrome' field, or use the Help > About Google Chrome menu optionAffected if The version number displayed is less than 14.0.835.163 (e.g., 14.0.835.162 or earlier)
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Confirm video handling is enabledTry loading a webpage with embedded video (e.g., YouTube) or check chrome://settings for media/peer connection settings. Also verify the --disable-gpu or --disable-video flags are NOT present in Chrome launch argumentsAffected if Video playback works or video-related flags are not disabled - the out-of-bounds read can only trigger when Chrome processes video content
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Review Chrome crash reportsLook in Chrome's crash dump directory (typically %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Crashpad\Reports on Windows, ~/.config/google-chrome/Crashpad/reports on Linux, or ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Crashpad/reports on macOS) for crashes related to video components occurring around the time of potential exposureAffected if There are crash reports mentioning video decoder or media pipeline components from the period when untrusted video content was viewed
You are affected if your installed Chrome version is below 14.0.835.163 AND you have video handling enabled and have viewed untrusted web pages or video content.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data14.0.835.163
Update Google Chrome to version 14.0.835.163 or later. Organizations should ensure browser update policies are in place and consider blocking access to untrusted video sources until the patch is applied.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation0.5 h
- Implementation0.5 h
- Testing0.5 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2851 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-2851 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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