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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 13 Jun 2022.
ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2019-13720

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 78.0.3904.87 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit 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
Use after free in WebAudio in Google Chrome prior to 78.0.3904.87 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in the WebAudio component of Google Chrome allows a remote attacker to corrupt heap memory via a specially crafted HTML page. The vulnerability occurs when the browser attempts to use memory that has already been freed, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 78.0.3904.87 or later to address the vulnerability. Organizations should ensure end-users have automatic updates enabled or are directed to update their browsers immediately.

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:< 78.0.3904.87
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Google Chrome is installed
    On Windows: Check C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe. On Linux: run 'which google-chrome' or 'which chromium-browser'. On macOS: check /Applications/Google Chrome.app
    Affected if Google Chrome executable exists on the system
  2. Determine installed Chrome version
    On Windows: Right-click chrome.exe, select Properties, go to Details tab, check File Version. On Linux: Run 'google-chrome --version' or 'chromium-browser --version'. On macOS: Right-click Google Chrome.app, Get Info, check Version.
    Affected if Version number is returned and is lower than 78.0.3904.87
  3. Check Chrome package on OpenSUSE Leap 15.1
    If running OpenSUSE Leap 15.1, run 'rpm -qa | grep -i chrome' to list installed Chrome packages, then 'rpm -q chrome-package-name' to get version details.
    Affected if OpenSUSE Leap 15.1 has Chrome installed from system packages
  4. Compare version against vulnerable range
    Compare the detected version number to 78.0.3904.87. Any version below 78.0.3904.87 is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is less than 78.0.3904.87 (for example, 78.0.3904.70, 77.x.x.x, etc.)

The environment is affected if Google Chrome (any channel) version 78.0.3904.87 or lower is installed and actively used, regardless of specific WebAudio configuration since the vulnerability triggers via crafted HTML pages loaded in the browser.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 78.0.3904.87 or later
Fixed in 78.0.3904.87
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 78.0.3904.87 or later to address the vulnerability. Organizations should ensure end-users have automatic updates enabled or are directed to update their browsers immediately.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 78.0.3904.87 or later (stable release)

  1. 1. Back up any important browser data (bookmarks, passwords, extensions) to prevent data loss
  2. 2. Open Google Chrome browser
  3. 3. Navigate to Chrome Settings > Help > About Google Chrome
  4. 4. Click 'Check for updates' or allow Chrome to automatically check for updates
  5. 5. If an update is available, download and install Chrome version 78.0.3904.87 or later
  6. 6. Restart the browser to complete the update
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by returning to Help > About Google Chrome and confirming the version is 78.0.3904.87 or higher
Caveat Browser updates typically have minimal breaking changes; some legacy extension compatibility may be affected

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Chrome Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
Get it fixed fast

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-2019-13720 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