ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2012-5156
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 · uneditedUse-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 24.0.1312.52 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving PDF fields.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in Google Chrome's PDF rendering engine before version 24.0.1312.52. The vulnerability occurs when handling PDF fields, where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially allowing remote attackers to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code via specially crafted PDF documents.
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
<= 24.0.1312.51= 24.0.1272.0= 24.0.1272.1= 24.0.1273.0= 24.0.1274.0= 24.0.1275.0= 24.0.1276.0= 24.0.1276.1= 24.0.1277.0= 24.0.1278.0= 24.0.1279.0= 24.0.1280.0CVSS 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 if Google Chrome is installedOpen Chrome and navigate to chrome://version, or on Windows check C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe. On macOS check /Applications/Google Chrome.app. On Linux check /opt/google/chrome/chrome or /usr/bin/google-chrome.Affected if Chrome is not installed - the vulnerability does not apply.
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Determine the installed Chrome version numberIn Chrome, type chrome://version in the address bar and press Enter. The version number is displayed at the top of the page (for example, 24.0.1312.51).Affected if Cannot determine version - version is unknown.
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Compare your version against the affected rangesReview the version from step 2 and check if it matches any of these conditions: <= 24.0.1312.51 OR equals 24.0.1272.0, 24.0.1272.1, 24.0.1273.0, 24.0.1274.0, 24.0.1275.0, 24.0.1276.0, 24.0.1276.1, 24.0.1277.0, 24.0.1278.0, or 24.0.1279.0, or 24.0.1280.0.Affected if Your version matches one of the affected versions listed.
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Confirm the PDF viewer plugin is enabledIn Chrome, navigate to chrome://plugins and look for the built-in PDF Viewer (PDF) plugin. Alternatively, check chrome://settings and search for PDF to see if Chrome is set to open PDFs automatically.Affected if The PDF viewer is enabled - the vulnerable code path can be triggered when opening malicious PDFs.
You are affected if Google Chrome is installed with a version <= 24.0.1312.51 or any of the specific versions from 24.0.1272.0 to 24.0.1280.0, and the built-in PDF viewer is enabled to handle PDF files.
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 24.0.1312.52 or later to apply the vendor patch. Until then, disable the built-in PDF viewer or avoid opening untrusted PDF files from external sources.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-5156 — 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-2012-5156 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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