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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2020-16007

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 86.0.4240.183 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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
Insufficient data validation in installer in Google Chrome prior to 86.0.4240.183 allowed a local attacker to potentially elevate privilege via a crafted filesystem.

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

Insufficient data validation in the Google Chrome installer prior to version 86.0.4240.183 allowed a local attacker to potentially elevate privileges by placing malicious files on the filesystem during the installation process.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 86.0.4240.183 or later to obtain the patched installer with proper data validation.

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:< 86.0.4240.183
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
Backports SleApplication
Affected:= 15.0
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1= 15.2

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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. Check installed Google Chrome version
    Open Chrome, go to Settings > About Chrome, or visit chrome://settings/help, or run 'google-chrome --version' or 'chrome --version' in terminal
    Affected if Version shown is earlier than 86.0.4240.183 (e.g., 85.x.x.x or earlier)
  2. Check Chrome package version on Debian 10
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep google-chrome' or 'apt show google-chrome' in terminal
    Affected if Package version listed is earlier than 86.0.4240.183-1 or package is not found (meaning it may not be installed from official sources)
  3. Check Chrome package version on openSUSE
    Run 'rpm -qi google-chrome-stable' or 'zypper info google-chrome-stable' in terminal
    Affected if Version shown is earlier than 86.0.4240.183 (check the Version field in the output)
  4. Verify installer source integrity
    If you recently installed Chrome, check if the installer was downloaded from the official Google repository (https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_*.rpm or *.deb) and verify the package checksum if possible
    Affected if Installer was obtained from unofficial/third-party sources or checksums could not be verified

You are affected if Chrome (or the Chrome installer you used) is version 86.0.4240.182 or earlier, particularly on Debian 10, openSUSE Leap 15.1/15.2, or openSUSE SLE 15.0.

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 86.0.4240.183 or later
Fixed in 86.0.4240.183
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 86.0.4240.183 or later to obtain the patched installer with proper data validation.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 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-2020-16007 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