ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2012-2868
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 · uneditedRace condition in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.89 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving improper interaction between worker processes and an XMLHttpRequest (aka XHR) object.
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 confidenceA race condition in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.89 stems from improper interaction between web worker processes and XMLHttpRequest (XHR) objects. An attacker can exploit the timing vulnerability to cause denial of service or potentially achieve unspecified other impact through malicious web content.
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
<= 21.0.1180.88= 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= 21.0.1180.38= 12.1= 12.2CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/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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Check your Google Chrome versionOpen Chrome, click the menu icon (three dots), select Help, then About Google Chrome. The version number is displayed on that page.Affected if The version is 21.0.1180.88 or earlier, or matches 21.0.1180.0 through 21.0.1180.38
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Verify if your Linux distribution is affectedIf using OpenSUSE, check the OS version by running 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'lsb_release -a' in the terminal.Affected if The system runs OpenSUSE 12.1 or OpenSUSE 12.2 with the vulnerable Chrome version installed
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Determine if web workers are in useReview your web application code or browser traffic for usage of the Web Worker API (look for 'new Worker()' calls) combined with XMLHttpRequest (XHR) requests.Affected if Your application uses both web workers and XHR requests, as the race condition requires interaction between these two features
You are affected if you run Google Chrome version 21.0.1180.88 or earlier (or versions 21.0.1180.0 through 21.0.1180.38) and your applications use web workers with XMLHttpRequest.
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 21.0.1180.89 or later to patch the race condition vulnerability in worker process and XHR interaction.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $2,320.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-2868 — 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-2012-2868 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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