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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2012-5139

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 23.0.1271.96 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 23.0.1271.97 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to visibility events.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome's visibility event handling (Page Visibility API) before version 23.0.1271.97. The bug allows remote attackers to free memory and then access it after freeing, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 23.0.1271.97 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via patch management systems and verify completion across all clients.

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:<= 23.0.1271.96= 23.0.1271.0= 23.0.1271.1= 23.0.1271.2= 23.0.1271.3= 23.0.1271.4= 23.0.1271.5= 23.0.1271.6= 23.0.1271.7= 23.0.1271.8= 23.0.1271.9= 23.0.1271.10
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 12.1= 12.2

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Verify Google Chrome is installed
    On Linux: check for /usr/bin/google-chrome or run 'which google-chrome'. On Windows: check C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
    Affected if Chrome executable exists on the system
  2. Determine installed Chrome version
    Run 'google-chrome --version' in terminal or access chrome://help in the browser address bar
    Affected if Version command returns a version number
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Check if the installed version is 23.0.1271.x where x is 0-10, or any version <= 23.0.1271.96
    Affected if Installed version is 23.0.1271.0 through 23.0.1271.10, or <= 23.0.1271.96
  4. Check for Page Visibility API usage (optional context)
    Review web application code for use of document.visibilityState, visibilitychange event listeners, or document.hidden property
    Affected if The browser processes pages using the Page Visibility API - this is the feature that triggers the vulnerable code path

A user is affected if Google Chrome version 23.0.1271.0 through 23.0.1271.96 is installed and actively used to browse web pages.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 23.0.1271.96
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 23.0.1271.97 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via patch management systems and verify completion across all clients.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 23.0.1271.97 or later

  1. Backup any important browser data (bookmarks, passwords, etc.) if desired
  2. Download Google Chrome version 23.0.1271.97 or later from the official Google Chrome website (google.com/chrome)
  3. Install the updated Chrome browser
  4. Verify the installed version by navigating to chrome://version and confirming the version number is 23.0.1271.97 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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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-2012-5139 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