ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2016-1639

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-03-06

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 48.0.2564.116 or later.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Use-after-free vulnerability in browser/extensions/api/webrtc_audio_private/webrtc_audio_private_api.cc in the WebRTC Audio Private API implementation in Google Chrome before 49.0.2623.75 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact by leveraging incorrect reliance on the resource context pointer.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in the WebRTC Audio Private API (webrtc_audio_private_api.cc) in Google Chrome prior to version 49.0.2623.75. The vulnerability stems from incorrect reliance on a resource context pointer, allowing an attacker to access freed memory and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 49.0.2623.75 or later. Given the CRITICAL severity (CVSS 9.8) and network-exploitable nature, prioritize immediate deployment across all affected installations.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

ChromeWeb browser

Affected:<= 48.0.2564.116

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Verify Google Chrome is installed

Check for Chrome executable in typical installation paths (e.g., C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe on Windows, /Applications/Google Chrome.app on macOS, or via 'which google-chrome' on Linux)

Affected if Chrome browser is present on the system
Determine installed Chrome version

Navigate to chrome://version in the browser address bar or run 'google-chrome --version' from command line. The version number displayed is the installed version.

Affected if N/A - this is the version identification step
Compare version against affected range

Compare the installed version number to the vulnerable range: any version <= 48.0.2564.116 is affected. Versions 49.0.2623.75 and later contain the fix.

Affected if Installed version is 48.0.2564.116 or earlier (version number less than or equal to 48.0.2564.116)
Confirm WebRTC Audio Private API component exists

The vulnerable code resides in webrtc_audio_private_api.cc within Chrome's binary. This component handles WebRTC audio functionality and is included in standard Chrome builds.

Affected if N/A - this confirms the vulnerable component is present in the affected Chrome versions

A user is affected if they have Google Chrome version 48.0.2564.116 or any earlier version installed, as the use-after-free vulnerability in the WebRTC Audio Private API exists in those versions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 48.0.2564.116

Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 49.0.2623.75 or later. Given the CRITICAL severity (CVSS 9.8) and network-exploitable nature, prioritize immediate deployment across all affected installations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 49.0.2623.75 or later

Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://settings/help to check the current version
If the version is 48.0.2564.116 or earlier, click 'Update Google Chrome' to download and install the latest version
Alternatively, download Chrome 49.0.2623.75 or later from the official Google Chrome website
After the update completes, restart Google Chrome to apply the fix

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation2.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

10.0 hours of engineering $1,720

Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-1639 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-1639 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2016-1639?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 48.0.2564.116 or later

Severity 9.8 Critical

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 2.3%

Affects: Chrome

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Chrome 10 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,720

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2016-1639 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References