ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2020-15970
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 · uneditedUse after free in NFC in Google Chrome prior to 86.0.4240.75 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape 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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's NFC implementation allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to potentially escape the sandbox and execute code with elevated privileges via a crafted HTML page.
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
< 86.0.4240.75
FedoraOperating system
= 31= 32= 33
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 10.0= 15.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Google Chrome is installedOpen terminal and run: google-chrome --version or chrome --version or look for Chrome in /usr/bin/Affected if Chrome is not installed - the vulnerability only affects Google Chrome, not Chromium or other browsers
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Determine the exact Chrome version numberNavigate to chrome://settings/help in the Chrome address bar, or run 'google-chrome --version' in command lineAffected if Version is lower than 86.0.4240.75 - this is the affected version range
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Check if NFC hardware support is enabledNavigate to chrome://settings and search for NFC, or inspect chrome://flags for NFC-related flags. On Linux, also check /etc/chromium-browser/default or ~/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences for NFC settingsAffected if NFC is enabled and the browser has NFC hardware access - the use-after-free occurs in the NFC implementation specifically
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Verify the operating system distribution and versionRun 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'hostnamectl' to identify the OSAffected if Running Fedora 31, 32, or 33, Debian 10.0, or openSUSE 15.0 with an affected Chrome version - these distributions shipped vulnerable Chrome packages
You are affected if you have Google Chrome installed with version below 86.0.4240.75 and NFC hardware support is enabled on your system.
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 data86.0.4240.75
Update Google Chrome to version 86.0.4240.75 or later to patch the vulnerability; ensure browsers are updated across all affected endpoints.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15970 — 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-2020-15970 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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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