ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2018-6163
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 68.0.3440.75 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 vulnerability exists in Google Chrome's URL Formatter component, which incorrectly handles confusable (homoglyph) Unicode characters in Internationalized Domain Names (IDN). An attacker can register a domain using lookalike characters from different scripts (e.g., Cyrillic 'a' vs Latin 'a') to spoof legitimate domains and trick users into believing 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
ChromeWeb browser
< 68.0.3440.75
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0CVSS 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
- 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.
-
Check Google Chrome versionOpen Chrome, click the three-dot menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://settings/help. Alternatively, run 'google-chrome --version' or 'google-chrome-stable --version' in terminal.Affected if Version is earlier than 68.0.3440.75
-
Verify Debian version if running Chrome on LinuxRun 'cat /etc/debian_version' in terminal to confirm the Debian release.Affected if Running Debian 9.0 with Chrome version < 68.0.3440.75 installed
-
Verify RHEL/CentOS version if running Chrome on LinuxRun 'cat /etc/redhat-release' in terminal to confirm the Red Hat Enterprise Linux release.Affected if Running RHEL 6.0 (Desktop, Server, or Workstation) with Chrome version < 68.0.3440.75 installed
-
Confirm IDN processing is activeVisit an IDN test site such as 'https://www.unicode.org/handlers/test-idn' or check if Chrome displays punycode domains (beginning with xn--) as decoded Unicode characters in the address bar.Affected if IDN decoding is active in the browser (default behavior) and Chrome version is < 68.0.3440.75
You are affected if Google Chrome version is below 68.0.3440.75 and IDN domains are being processed, which is the default behavior in vulnerable versions.
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 data68.0.3440.75
Update Google Chrome to version 68.0.3440.75 or later. Implement browser update management via enterprise deployment tools (GPO, MDM, SCCM) to ensure consistent patching across all endpoints.
Fix this in Chrome
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-2018-6163 — 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-2018-6163 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
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.
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.
- 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