ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2012-2856
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 PDF functionality in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.57 on Mac OS X and Linux, and before 21.0.1180.60 on Windows and Chrome Frame, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors that trigger out-of-bounds write operations.
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 versions before 21.0.1180.57 (Mac OS X/Linux) and 21.0.1180.60 (Windows/Chrome Frame) contain a vulnerability in the PDF functionality that allows remote attackers to trigger out-of-bounds write operations, potentially causing denial of service or unspecified impact.
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
<= 21.0.1180.56= 21.0.1180.0= 21.0.1180.1= 21.0.1180.2= 21.0.1180.31= 21.0.1180.32= 21.0.1180.33= 21.0.1180.34= 21.0.1180.35= 21.0.1180.36= 21.0.1180.37= 21.0.1180.38CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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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Determine Google Chrome installed versionOpen Chrome and navigate to chrome://version, or click Menu > Help > About Google Chrome. Note the full version number displayed.Affected if Version is 21.0.1180.56 or lower, or falls within 21.0.1180.0 through 21.0.1180.38 on any OS, or 21.0.1180.59 or lower on Windows/Chrome Frame.
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Identify operating systemCheck whether the Chrome installation is running on Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, or if Chrome Frame is installed.Affected if The OS-specific version thresholds differ: Mac OS X/Linux require version 21.0.1180.57 or later to be fixed; Windows/Chrome Frame require version 21.0.1180.60 or later.
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Confirm PDF functionality is enabledNavigate to chrome://plugins and locate the Chrome PDF Viewer plugin, or verify that PDF files open in the browser by default. This is typically enabled by default.Affected if The vulnerability exists in the PDF functionality; if the Chrome PDF Viewer plugin is disabled, the exploit surface may be reduced, but the version is still vulnerable regardless.
A user is affected if their Google Chrome version is 21.0.1180.56 or lower on Mac/Linux, or 21.0.1180.59 or lower on Windows/Chrome Frame, and the PDF viewer is enabled.
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 dataUpdate Google Chrome to version 21.0.1180.57 or later for Mac OS X/Linux, or version 21.0.1180.60 or later for Windows and Chrome Frame.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation0.5 h
- Implementation0.5 h
- Testing0.5 h
- Review / QA0.3 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-2012-2856 — 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-2012-2856 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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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.
- 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