ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2016-1680
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 ports/SkFontHost_FreeType.cpp in Skia, as used in Google Chrome before 51.0.2704.63, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown 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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Skia's FreeType font hosting code (SkFontHost_FreeType.cpp) allows remote attackers to cause heap memory corruption by continuing to use freed memory pointers. This stems from improper memory lifecycle management during font rendering operations in the graphics library.
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
<= 50.0.2661.102
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 14.04= 15.10= 16.04
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0= 42.1= 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 and navigate to chrome://version, or run 'google-chrome --version' or 'chromium-browser --version' from command lineAffected if Version is 50.0.2661.102 or lower
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Identify Skia library usageSearch for installed applications that bundle or link to the Skia graphics library (common in Chromium-based browsers, some PDF viewers, and graphics tools). Use 'ldd <executable>' to list linked libraries, or check package managers for 'libskia' packagesAffected if Application uses a version of Skia built from source before the patch date (mid-2016) and performs FreeType font operations
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Verify FreeType font handling is activeThe vulnerability triggers during FreeType font hosting operations in SkFontHost_FreeType.cpp. Check if the application loads or renders TrueType/OpenType fonts (common in web browsing, document rendering)Affected if Application actively uses Skia for FreeType font rendering (this is the default behavior for font display in Chrome and Skia-based applications)
A user is affected if they run Google Chrome version 50.0.2661.102 or lower, or any application bundling an unpatched Skia library version that performs FreeType font rendering operations.
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 51.0.2704.63 or later. Applications using the Skia library should update to a patched version of Skia that addresses this vulnerability.
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-2016-1680 — 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-2016-1680 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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