ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2011-3972
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 · uneditedThe shader translator implementation in Google Chrome before 17.0.963.46 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 · moderate confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Google Chrome's shader translator implementation (the component that compiles/translate GPU shaders). The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors through the shader processing code.
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
< 17.0.963.46CVSS 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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Verify Google Chrome is installedCheck for Google Chrome browser on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe. On macOS, check /Applications/Google Chrome.app. On Linux, run 'which google-chrome' or check /usr/bin/google-chrome.Affected if Google Chrome is present on the system
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Determine installed Chrome versionOpen Chrome, click the menu icon (three dots), select Help, then About Google Chrome. Alternatively, navigate to chrome://settings/help in the address bar. Note the full version number displayed.Affected if Version number displayed is lower than 17.0.963.46
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Confirm shader translator is in useThis vulnerability affects the shader translator component. Chrome uses GPU acceleration for WebGL and graphics rendering by default. To check if GPU acceleration is enabled, navigate to chrome://settings/advanced and look for 'Hardware acceleration' under System, or visit chrome://gpu for detailed GPU feature status.Affected if GPU acceleration or WebGL features are enabled and Chrome version is below 17.0.963.46
If Google Chrome is installed with a version lower than 17.0.963.46 and GPU/shader processing features are in use, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 data17.0.963.46
Update Google Chrome to version 17.0.963.46 or later. Organizations should ensure browser patch management processes are in place to address such vulnerabilities promptly.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3972 — 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-2011-3972 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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