ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2018-6175
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 URL Formatter in Google Chrome prior to version 68.0.3440.75 incorrectly handled confusable Unicode characters (IDN homographs). Attackers could register domains using lookalike characters from non-Latin scripts (e.g., Cyrillic) that visually mimic legitimate ASCII domain names, enabling domain spoofing 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
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.
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Verify Google Chrome is installedRun `google-chrome --version` or `google-chrome-stable --version` on Linux; on Windows check Program Files for Google Chrome folder or run `chrome://version` in the browserAffected if Google Chrome is present on the system
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Determine the installed Chrome version numberExecute `google-chrome --version` or `google-chrome-stable --version` in terminal, or open chrome://version in the browser address bar and note the version stringAffected if The command returns a version number less than 68.0.3440.75
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Check for Chrome via package manager on RHEL/DebianOn RHEL systems run `rpm -q google-chrome` or `yum list installed | grep chrome`; on Debian run `dpkg -l | grep chrome` or `apt list --installed 2>/dev/null | grep -i chrome`Affected if A Chrome package is installed with a version below 68.0.3440.75
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Confirm the URL formatter is processing domainsVisit a domain with non-ASCII characters (Internationalized Domain Name) in the browser - the vulnerability triggers when Chrome displays and processes IDN domains in the address barAffected if The browser displays the punycode or Unicode form of an IDN domain, indicating the URL formatter is active (all versions below 68.0.3440.75 are affected when viewing any IDN site)
The user is affected if Google Chrome (any channel) version 68.0.3440.75 or later is NOT installed; all versions below this threshold have the vulnerable URL formatter that misHandles confusable Unicode characters.
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, which contains the fix for proper handling of confusable characters in the URL formatter.
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-2018-6175 — 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-2018-6175 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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