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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2011-3906

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-12-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.912.63 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The PDF parser in Google Chrome before 16.0.912.63 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 confidence

Google Chrome before version 16.0.912.63 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its built-in PDF parser. A remote attacker can craft a malicious PDF file that causes the browser to read memory outside intended bounds, leading to a denial of service (crash).

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 16.0.912.63 or later. For enterprises, ensure automated Chrome updates or patch management are enabled to deploy browser updates.

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
Affected:< 16.0.912.63

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Chrome version
    Navigate to chrome://settings/help or go to Menu > Help > About Google Chrome to see the current version number
    Affected if Version is lower than 16.0.912.63 (e.g., 16.0.912.62 or earlier)
  2. Confirm PDF viewer is enabled
    Navigate to chrome://plugins and look for 'Chrome PDF Viewer' or 'PDF Viewer' plugin. It should be listed as Enabled.
    Affected if The built-in PDF viewer is enabled and the Chrome version is vulnerable
  3. Identify if PDF files are commonly opened
    Check browser history or download folder for .pdf files, or ask users if they open PDF documents from the web
    Affected if Users open PDF files from untrusted sources in the vulnerable Chrome version

User is affected if Chrome version is below 16.0.912.63 AND the built-in PDF viewer is enabled AND users open PDF files in the browser.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 16.0.912.63 or later
Fixed in 16.0.912.63
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 16.0.912.63 or later. For enterprises, ensure automated Chrome updates or patch management are enabled to deploy browser updates.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

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

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-3906 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data