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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2014-3198

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-10-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 38.0.2125.7 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The Instance::HandleInputEvent function in pdf/instance.cc in the PDFium component in Google Chrome before 38.0.2125.101 interprets a certain -1 value as an index instead of a no-visible-page error code, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) 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 confidence

The Instance::HandleInputEvent function in PDFium incorrectly interprets -1 as a valid array index rather than as an error code indicating no visible page, causing an out-of-bounds memory read that leads to denial of service.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 38.0.2125.101 or later, or apply the corresponding patch to the PDFium component to ensure -1 is properly handled as an error condition rather than a valid index.

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:<= 38.0.2125.7
Enterprise Linux Desktop SupplementaryOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server SupplementaryOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server Supplementary EusOperating system
Affected:= 6.6.z
Enterprise Linux Workstation SupplementaryOperating system
Affected:= 6.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Google Chrome version
    On Windows: Navigate to Help > About Google Chrome. On Linux: Run 'google-chrome --version' or check /usr/bin/google-chrome. On Mac: Run '/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome --version'
    Affected if Version is 38.0.2125.7 or earlier (versions through 38.0.2125.7 are affected)
  2. Confirm PDFium component availability
    PDFium is embedded within Chrome and handles PDF rendering. Verify PDF viewing is enabled in Chrome by navigating to chrome://settings and checking 'PDF documents' settings, or by opening any PDF file in the browser
    Affected if Chrome can open and render PDF files, meaning PDFium is active
  3. Check Red Hat supplementary Chrome package (if applicable)
    On RHEL systems with supplementary packages, run 'rpm -qa | grep chrome' to list installed Chrome packages, then check the version with 'rpm -q google-chrome'
    Affected if google-chrome package version is 38.0.2125.7-1 or earlier
  4. Verify PDF input event handling trigger
    The vulnerability triggers when HandleInputEvent processes certain input events on PDF documents with specific page conditions. No direct command-line check exists; the bug manifests during PDF interaction
    Affected if A PDF file is opened and user interacts with it while the PDF has no visible page (condition that causes -1 to be returned as index)

You are affected if running Google Chrome version 38.0.2125.7 or earlier (or the corresponding Chrome package version from RHEL 6.x supplementary) and use the built-in PDF viewer to open PDF files.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 38.0.2125.7
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 38.0.2125.101 or later, or apply the corresponding patch to the PDFium component to ensure -1 is properly handled as an error condition rather than a valid index.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
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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-2014-3198 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