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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2020-16042

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 87.0.4280.88 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Uninitialized Use in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 87.0.4280.88 allowed a remote attacker to obtain potentially sensitive information from process memory 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

Uninitialized use vulnerability in V8 JavaScript engine in Google Chrome prior to version 87.0.4280.88 allows a remote attacker to obtain potentially sensitive information from process memory by tricking users into visiting specially crafted HTML pages.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 87.0.4280.88 or later; enterprise deployments should push the browser update to managed workstations and verify completion.

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:< 87.0.4280.88

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Google Chrome version
    Navigate to chrome://settings/help in the Chrome browser, or use 'Google Chrome' > 'About Google Chrome' menu on macOS, or click the menu icon > 'Help' > 'About Google Chrome' on Windows/Linux
    Affected if The displayed version number is less than 87.0.4280.88 (for example, 87.0.4280.87, 86.x.x.x, or earlier)
  2. Verify V8 JavaScript engine is present
    This check is implicit - the V8 engine is built into all Google Chrome installations and is always active when browsing web pages
    Affected if Google Chrome is installed and used to browse web pages (V8 cannot be disabled)

You are affected if the installed Google Chrome version is any version prior to 87.0.4280.88 and you use the browser to visit web pages

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 87.0.4280.88 or later
Fixed in 87.0.4280.88
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 87.0.4280.88 or later; enterprise deployments should push the browser update to managed workstations and verify completion.

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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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2020-16042 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