Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2015-1242
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 · uneditedThe ReduceTransitionElementsKind function in hydrogen-check-elimination.cc in Google V8 before 4.2.77.8, as used in Google Chrome before 42.0.2311.90, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted JavaScript code that leverages "type confusion" in the check-elimination optimization.
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 confidenceType confusion vulnerability in the ReduceTransitionElementsKind function in V8 JavaScript engine's hydrogen-check-elimination.cc allows crafted JavaScript code to trigger undefined behavior, potentially leading to denial of service or code execution. The issue affects Chrome versions before 42.0.2311.90 and V8 versions before 4.2.77.8.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 14.04= 14.10= 15.04
ChromeWeb browser
<= 42.0.2311.60
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0<= 4.2.77.7CVSS 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 versionOpen Chrome, go to Menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://version/Affected if Version displayed is 42.0.2311.60 or earlier
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Identify standalone V8 usageCheck for installed applications that embed the V8 JavaScript engine (node.js with --version, or other V8-based software) and locate the V8 version string in binary or library filesAffected if V8 version found is 4.2.77.7 or earlier
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Check V8 library version on Debian/UbuntuFor systems with libv8 installed, run: dpkg -l | grep libv8 or check the library file version with: strings /usr/lib/*/libv8.so | grep 'V8 version'Affected if The displayed V8 version is 4.2.77.7 or earlier
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Verify Ubuntu/Debian package versionsRun: apt-cache policy chromium-browser (Ubuntu) or apt-cache policy chromium (Debian) to see installed versionAffected if Installed version is earlier than 42.0.2311.90 (Chrome) or the V8 library package is before 4.2.77.8
You are affected if Chrome version is 42.0.2311.60 or earlier, or any V8 library/application version is 4.2.77.7 or earlier on Ubuntu 14.04/14.10/15.04 or Debian 8.0.
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 dataUpgrade Google Chrome to version 42.0.2311.90 or later to include the patched V8 engine (4.2.77.8 or later). For embedded V8 usage, rebuild with the patched V8 version.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1242 — 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-2015-1242 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
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