dbcve.org
ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2018-17462

CRITICAL · 9.6 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 70.0.3538.67 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Incorrect refcounting in AppCache in Google Chrome prior to 70.0.3538.67 allowed a remote attacker to perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.

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

Google Chrome versions prior to 70.0.3538.67 contain an incorrect reference counting (refcounting) vulnerability in the AppCache implementation. This memory management flaw allows a remote attacker who tricks a user into visiting a crafted HTML page to escape the browser's sandbox security sandbox, potentially executing arbitrary code on the victim's system.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 70.0.3538.67 or later. Organizations should deploy the browser update across all affected endpoints and verify successful installation.

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:< 70.0.3538.67
Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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 checks

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

  1. Check Google Chrome version
    Open chrome://version in the browser address bar, or run 'google-chrome --version' or 'google-chrome-stable --version' from command line
    Affected if Version is earlier than 70.0.3538.67
  2. Check Red Hat Linux Desktop version
    Run 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to identify the installed Red Hat Desktop version
    Affected if Version equals 6.0 and the Chrome browser on this system is version earlier than 70.0.3538.67
  3. Check Red Hat Linux Server version
    Run 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to identify the installed Red Hat Server version
    Affected if Version equals 6.0 and the Chrome browser on this system is version earlier than 70.0.3538.67
  4. Check Red Hat Linux Workstation version
    Run 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to identify the installed Red Hat Workstation version
    Affected if Version equals 6.0 and the Chrome browser on this system is version earlier than 70.0.3538.67
  5. Check Debian Linux version
    Run 'cat /etc/debian_version' to identify the installed Debian version
    Affected if Version equals 9.0 and the Chrome browser on this system is version earlier than 70.0.3538.67

You are affected if Google Chrome version is less than 70.0.3538.67 on any of the listed platforms, or if you are running Chrome on Red Hat Linux 6.0 or Debian 9.0 with a vulnerable Chrome version.

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 70.0.3538.67 or later
Fixed in 70.0.3538.67
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 70.0.3538.67 or later. Organizations should deploy the browser update across all affected endpoints and verify successful installation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Google Chrome 70.0.3538.67 or later (or distribution-provided chromium-browser package that includes the security fix)

  1. For Chrome Browser users: Upgrade Google Chrome to version 70.0.3538.67 or later by navigating to Chrome menu > Help > About Google Chrome and clicking 'Update Google Chrome', or download from the official Chrome download page
  2. For Linux systems with Chromium package: Run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'sudo yum update' (RHEL/CentOS) to install the patched Chromium/Chrome package
  3. For RHEL/CentOS 6.x systems: Ensure the chromium-browser package is updated via 'sudo yum update chromium-browser' or 'sudo yum update chrome-browser'
  4. Verify the installed version by running 'google-chrome --version' or 'chromium-browser --version' to confirm it shows 70.0.3538.67 or higher

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

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17462 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2018-17462 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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