ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2018-18354
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 · uneditedInsufficient validate of external protocols in Shell Integration in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 71.0.3578.80 allowed a remote attacker to launch external programs 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 confidenceInsufficient validation of external protocols in Google Chrome's Shell Integration on Windows allowed remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs by tricking users into visiting crafted HTML pages that invoke external protocol handlers (e.g., custom URL schemes) without proper sanitization.
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
< 71.0.3578.80
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0CVSS 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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Confirm Chrome is installed on WindowsCheck if Google Chrome exists in the system. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe. Or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App*\Google Chrome' in PowerShell.Affected if Chrome is not installed on the system, or the system is not Windows (the vulnerability only affects Chrome's Shell Integration on Windows).
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Determine installed Chrome versionOpen Chrome, go to Settings > About Chrome, or navigate to chrome://settings/help. Alternatively, run 'chrome.exe --version' from command line or check the version property of chrome.exe file.Affected if The displayed version number is less than 71.0.3578.80 (e.g., 71.0.3578.x where x < 80, or any version 70.x.x.x or earlier).
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Verify vulnerability applicabilityConfirm that custom URL scheme handlers or external protocol handlers are registered on the system. These are registered in Windows Registry under HKCU\Software\Classes\ or HKLM\Software\Classes\ for protocols like myapp://, custom://, etc.Affected if Any custom protocol handlers are registered on the Windows system and Chrome is used to browse untrusted HTML content, as the exploit requires invoking these handlers through crafted web pages.
A user is affected if Google Chrome is installed on Windows and the installed version is below 71.0.3578.80, allowing crafted HTML pages to invoke external protocol handlers without proper validation.
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 data71.0.3578.80
Update Google Chrome for Windows to version 71.0.3578.80 or later to patch the shell integration protocol validation vulnerability.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18354 — 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-2018-18354 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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