ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2015-1271
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 · uneditedPDFium, as used in Google Chrome before 44.0.2403.89, does not properly handle certain out-of-memory conditions, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted PDF document that triggers a large memory allocation.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in PDFium (Google Chrome's PDF viewer) stemming from improper handling of out-of-memory conditions when processing crafted PDF documents that trigger large memory allocations. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially achieve unspecified code execution via malicious PDF files.
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
<= 43.0.2357.134
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0
Enterprise Linux Desktop SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server Supplementary EusOperating system
= 6.7z
Enterprise Linux Workstation SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0= 13.1= 13.2CVSS 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 installedOn Windows, check for Chrome in Program Files or via registry. On macOS, check /Applications folder. On Linux, query the package manager (dpkg -l | grep -i chrome or rpm -qa | grep -i chrome).Affected if Google Chrome browser is present on the system
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Determine the installed Chrome versionOpen Chrome and navigate to chrome://version, or run 'google-chrome --version' from command line on Linux, or check the Windows registry for the version value.Affected if Version number is 43.0.2357.134 or lower
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Verify Chrome processes PDF filesConfirm that PDF viewing is enabled in Chrome: navigate to chrome://plugins and check for Chrome PDF Viewer (PDFium), or check if users commonly open PDF documents in the browser.Affected if PDFium plugin is enabled and users open PDF files in Chrome
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Check Linux distribution packages (if applicable)On Debian systems: dpkg -l | grep -i chrom. On RHEL systems: rpm -qa | grep -i chrome. On openSUSE: rpm -qa | grep -i chromium.Affected if Package version matches the vulnerable Chrome versions listed for the specific distribution
A system is affected if Google Chrome version 43.0.2357.134 or lower is installed with PDF viewing enabled and users process PDF documents in the browser.
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 44.0.2403.89 or later to obtain the patched PDFium library. Organizations should deploy this update through their endpoint patch management systems.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1271 — 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-2015-1271 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