ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2014-7900
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 the CPDF_Parser::IsLinearizedFile function in fpdfapi/fpdf_parser/fpdf_parser_parser.cpp in PDFium, as used in Google Chrome before 39.0.2171.65, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted PDF document.
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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in the CPDF_Parser::IsLinearizedFile function in PDFium's fpdf_parser_parser.cpp. The vulnerability occurs when processing a crafted PDF document with malformed linearized file structures, causing the parser to access freed memory during the IsLinearizedFile check, leading to potential denial of service or unspecified code execution.
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
<= 39.0.2171.45CVSS 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 if Google Chrome is installedOn Windows: Check for Chrome in Program Files or via Registry. On macOS: Check /Applications/Google Chrome.app. On Linux: check for google-chrome in PATH or /usr/bin/google-chromeAffected if Google Chrome is installed on the system
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Determine the installed Google Chrome versionNavigate to chrome://settings/help or run 'google-chrome --version' (Linux/macOS) or check the executable properties (Windows)Affected if The version shown is 39.0.2171.45 or lower
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Verify the PDFium library version (if using custom application)If you have a custom application using PDFium, locate the PDFium library (fpdf_parser_parser.cpp or libpdfium.so/dll) and check its build metadata or version stringAffected if The application embeds a PDFium library from Chrome 39.0.2171.45 or earlier
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Check if processing PDF files is a common operationReview system or browser usage patterns to confirm if PDF files are frequently opened or renderedAffected if Users routinely open PDF documents in the affected Chrome version
You are affected if Google Chrome version 39.0.2171.45 or lower is installed and users process PDF documents with it.
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 39.0.2171.65 or later, which contains the patched PDFium library. Organizations using PDFium in custom applications should obtain the fixed library version and recompile their software.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-7900 — 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-2014-7900 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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