ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2020-16014
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 PPAPI in Google Chrome prior to 87.0.4280.66 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in the PPAPI (Pepper Plugin API) component of Google Chrome versions prior to 87.0.4280.66. An attacker who has already compromised the renderer process can exploit this memory corruption issue via a specially crafted HTML page to potentially escape the Chrome sandbox and execute arbitrary code.
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
< 87.0.4280.66CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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 installed Chrome versionOpen Chrome, click the three-dot menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://version to view the full version stringAffected if The displayed version is lower than 87.0.4280.66 (e.g., 86.x.x.x or earlier)
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Confirm PPAPI/Pepper plugin support is enabledNavigate to chrome://plugins in the address bar and look for entries labeled 'Pepper Plugin' or 'PPAPI'Affected if PPAPI/Pepper plugins are listed as enabled (the vulnerability exists in this component)
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Check Chrome release channelNavigate to chrome://chrome or chrome://version to see if the browser is running a stable, beta, or dev channel buildAffected if Running a non-stable channel (beta/dev/canary) that is below version 87.0.4280.66
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Inspect Chrome processes for renderer anomaliesOpen Task Manager (Shift+Esc) while Chrome is running, look for multiple 'Renderer' processes, and check for unexpected memory usage or crashed renderer entriesAffected if Renderer processes show frequent crashes or abnormally high memory consumption, which may indicate active exploitation
You are affected if your Chrome version is below 87.0.4280.66 and PPAPI/Pepper plugin support is enabled, as the use-after-free flaw exists specifically in that component.
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.
dbcve · scoped87.0.4280.66
Update Google Chrome to version 87.0.4280.66 or later. Given the critical severity (9.6) and the potential for sandbox escape, prioritize patching across all affected systems immediately.
Chrome 87.0.4280.66 or later
- Open Google Chrome
- Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner
- Navigate to Help > About Google Chrome
- Chrome will automatically check for and install updates
- Ensure the installed version is 87.0.4280.66 or later
- Restart the browser if an update was installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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-2020-16014 — 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-2020-16014 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