ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2020-16044
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 WebRTC in Google Chrome prior to 88.0.4324.96 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted SCTP packet.
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 WebRTC's SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) handling in Google Chrome allows a remote attacker to send a crafted SCTP packet that frees memory but still allows reference to that freed memory, leading to heap corruption and potential remote code execution.
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
< 88.0.4324.96CVSS 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 the installed Google Chrome versionNavigate to chrome://settings/help or use the Chrome menu > Help > About Google Chrome to view the current version numberAffected if The version shown is lower than 88.0.4324.96 (for example, 87.x.x.x or earlier)
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Verify if WebRTC is actively in useCheck for browser extensions that depend on WebRTC (such as video conferencing, VoIP, or file transfer extensions) by visiting chrome://extensions, or observe if applications embedded in Chrome use WebRTC featuresAffected if WebRTC-based extensions or applications are installed and active on the browser
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Confirm WebRTC is not disabled via enterprise policyIn the address bar, go to chrome://policy and look for WebRTC-related policies, or check if the device is managed by an enterprise that pushes browser configurations. On managed devices, run gpedit.msc (Windows) or check /Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist (macOS) for WebRTC disable policiesAffected if No policy restriction is found and WebRTC remains enabled by default (the vulnerable SCTP code path is active)
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Identify active SCTP-based connectionsUse Chrome's net-internals tools by typing chrome://net-internals#sctp in the address bar to view any active SCTP associations or examine network traffic with developer tools (F12 > Network tab) for SCTP-based communicationAffected if Active SCTP sessions are present, indicating the vulnerable code path is being exercised
You are affected if your Chrome version is below 88.0.4324.96 and WebRTC remains enabled, allowing the SCTP handling code to execute and expose the use-after-free vulnerability.
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 data88.0.4324.96
Update Google Chrome to version 88.0.4324.96 or later. As a defense-in-depth measure, consider disabling WebRTC in enterprise browser configurations if immediate patching is not feasible.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-16044 — 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-2020-16044 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