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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2016-5202

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 54.0.2840.98 / 54.0.2840.99 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
browser/extensions/api/dial/dial_registry.cc in Google Chrome before 54.0.2840.98 on macOS, before 54.0.2840.99 on Windows, and before 54.0.2840.100 on Linux neglects to copy a device ID before an erase() call, which causes the erase operation to access data that that erase operation will destroy.

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 confidence

A memory safety vulnerability in Chrome's DIAL (Discovery and Launch) API registry implementation where the code fails to preserve a device ID before calling erase() on a container, causing the erase operation to access already-destroyed data - a use-after-free/iterator invalidation issue.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 54.0.2840.98 or later on macOS, 54.0.2840.99 or later on Windows, or 54.0.2840.100 or later on Linux.

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
Affected:< 54.0.2840.98< 54.0.2840.99< 54.0.2840.100

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.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 checks

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

  1. Verify Google Chrome is installed
    Open terminal and run: google-chrome --version (Linux), or check /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleVersion (macOS), or check registry key HKLM\Software\Google\Chrome\BLValue (Windows)
    Affected if Google Chrome is not found on the system
  2. Determine installed Chrome version
    Navigate to chrome://settings/help in the browser, or run 'google-chrome --version' in command line
    Affected if Version is blank or cannot be determined
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if installed version falls below 54.0.2840.98 (macOS), below 54.0.2840.99 (Windows), or below 54.0.2840.100 (Linux)
    Affected if Installed version is lower than the threshold for your operating system - the specific minimum version depends on whether you run macOS, Windows, or Linux - see affected ranges
  4. Determine if DIAL functionality is in use
    DIAL (Discovery and Launch) is used for second-screen device discovery. Check if Chrome has ever been used for casting to DIAL-enabled devices, or if extensions/apps leveraging DIAL are installed. Review chrome://extensions for relevant extensions
    Affected if DIAL-enabled casting or second-screen features have been used - the vulnerability only triggers when DIAL device registry operations occur

You are affected if Google Chrome is installed with a version below 54.0.2840.98 (macOS), 54.0.2840.99 (Windows), or 54.0.2840.100 (Linux), and the DIAL/casting functionality has been used, as the use-after-free occurs during erase() operations on the DIAL device registry container.

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

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 54.0.2840.98 / 54.0.2840.99 / 54.0.2840.100 or later
Fixed in 54.0.2840.9854.0.2840.9954.0.2840.100
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 54.0.2840.98 or later on macOS, 54.0.2840.99 or later on Windows, or 54.0.2840.100 or later on Linux.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 54.0.2840.100 (or later) for all platforms

  1. Upgrade Google Chrome to version 54.0.2840.98 or later on macOS
  2. Upgrade Google Chrome to version 54.0.2840.99 or later on Windows
  3. Upgrade Google Chrome to version 54.0.2840.100 or later on Linux
  4. Restart Chrome after the update to apply the fix
Caveat Chrome stable upgrades typically have minimal compatibility issues; however, older system configurations may encounter issues with the newest Chrome release

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

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5202 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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