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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2018-6109

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-01-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 66.0.3359.117 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
readAsText() can indefinitely read the file picked by the user, rather than only once at the time the file is picked in File API in Google Chrome prior to 66.0.3359.117 allowed a remote attacker to access data on the user file system without explicit consent 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

The File API in Google Chrome prior to 66.0.3359.117 contained a vulnerability where readAsText() could be called repeatedly to read a user-selected file multiple times, rather than being limited to a single read at the time of file selection. This allowed malicious web pages to access user file data without explicit ongoing consent.

MitigationUpgrade Google Chrome to version 66.0.3359.117 or later. Users should be instructed to update their browser to the latest version.

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:< 66.0.3359.117
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Check Google Chrome browser version
    Open chrome://settings/help in the Chrome browser, or run 'google-chrome --version' from command line, or check the About dialog via menu (Help > About Google Chrome)
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 66.0.3359.117 (for example 66.0.3359.116, 65.x.x.x, 64.x.x.x, etc.)
  2. Check installed Chrome package on Debian Linux
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep google-chrome' or 'dpkg -s google-chrome' to see the installed package version
    Affected if The installed version string is less than 66.0.3359.117
  3. Check installed Chrome package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep -i chrome' or 'rpm -qi google-chrome-stable' to query the RPM package
    Affected if The RPM version is lower than 66.0.3359.117

If the installed Google Chrome browser version is less than 66.0.3359.117, the browser is vulnerable to repeated unauthorized file reads via the File API readAsText() method.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 66.0.3359.117 or later
Fixed in 66.0.3359.117
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Google Chrome to version 66.0.3359.117 or later. Users should be instructed to update their browser to the latest version.

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
Get the upgrade done

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

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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-2018-6109 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