ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2014-3196
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 · uneditedbase/memory/shared_memory_win.cc in Google Chrome before 38.0.2125.101 on Windows does not properly implement read-only restrictions on shared memory, which allows attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism 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 · high confidenceGoogle Chrome versions prior to 38.0.2125.101 on Windows contain a vulnerability in base/memory/shared_memory_win.cc where read-only restrictions on shared memory are not properly implemented. This flaw allows attackers to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or other attacks through the compromised shared memory handling.
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
<= 38.0.2125.7CVSS 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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Check Google Chrome version on WindowsOpen Chrome, click the menu icon (three dots) > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://settings/helpAffected if The displayed version is 38.0.2125.7 or earlier
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Verify Chrome is running on WindowsCheck the operating system by right-clicking This PC > Properties, or run 'winver' in command promptAffected if The operating system is Windows (the vulnerability only affects Windows versions of Chrome)
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Confirm Chrome edition is not ChromiumCheck the About page - official Google Chrome displays 'Google Chrome' as the browser name, while Chromium builds show 'Chromium'Affected if The browser is Google Chrome (not Chromium) and version is 38.0.2125.7 or earlier
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Compare against vulnerable version rangeCompare your installed version number to the affected range: any version less than or equal to 38.0.2125.7 on WindowsAffected if Installed Chrome version is 38.0.2125.7 or lower on a Windows platform
You are affected if Google Chrome version 38.0.2125.7 or earlier is installed on Windows, as this version range contains the improper read-only restriction vulnerability in shared memory handling.
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 38.0.2125.101 or later to address the improper read-only restriction implementation in shared memory on Windows.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-3196 — 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-2014-3196 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