Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2018-6098
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 · uneditedIncorrect handling of confusable characters in URL Formatter in Google Chrome prior to 66.0.3359.117 allowed a remote attacker to perform domain spoofing via IDN homographs via a crafted domain name.
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 confidenceThe URL Formatter in Google Chrome prior to 66.0.3359.117 incorrectly handled confusable (homograph) characters in Internationalized Domain Names (IDN). Attackers could craft domains using characters from different scripts that appear identical to legitimate domain names, enabling phishing attacks where users believe they are visiting a trusted site.
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
Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0= 9.0
ChromeWeb browser
< 66.0.3359.117CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Google Chrome versionOpen Chrome, click the three-dot menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://version, to view the installed version numberAffected if The displayed version is less than 66.0.3359.117 (e.g., 65.x.x.x or earlier)
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Verify Chrome package version on Linux systemsOn Red Hat systems, run 'rpm -q google-chrome-stable' or 'yum list installed google-chrome*'. On Debian systems, run 'dpkg -l | grep chrome' or 'apt list --installed | grep chrome'Affected if The installed package version shown is less than 66.0.3359.117
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Confirm IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) support is enabledIn Chrome, navigate to chrome://settings/searchEngines?search=IDN, or check that no policy is set to disable 'Enable internationalized domain names' featureAffected if IDN support is enabled (this is the default) and the browser version is vulnerable, as the flaw exploits how confusable characters in IDN are displayed
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 data66.0.3359.117
Update Google Chrome to version 66.0.3359.117 or later. Organizations should also implement browser update deployment mechanisms and consider enabling Chrome's Safe Browsing feature for additional protection against deceptive domains.
Fix this in Linux Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6098 — 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-2018-6098 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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