ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2020-6401
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 · uneditedInsufficient validation of untrusted input in Omnibox in Google Chrome prior to 80.0.3987.87 allowed a remote attacker to perform domain spoofing via IDN homographs via a crafted domain name.
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 confidenceInsufficient validation of untrusted input in Chrome's Omnibox (address bar) allows attackers to perform domain spoofing via IDN homographs. The vulnerability exists because Chrome prior to version 80.0.3987.87 does not properly validate Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), enabling malicious domains with visually similar characters from different scripts (e.g., Cyrillic vs Latin) to appear as legitimate domains.
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
< 80.0.3987.87= 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Google Chrome versionOpen chrome://version in the browser or run 'google-chrome --version' / 'chrome --version' from command lineAffected if The version displayed is below 80.0.3987.87 (e.g., 79.x.x.x or earlier)
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Check Chromium-based browser variantsRun 'chromium --version' or 'chromium-browser --version' from command line, or inspect the browser's About dialogAffected if The variant (e.g., Chromium, Edge, Brave) is based on unpatched Chrome code and reports a version below 80.0.3987.87
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Verify OpenSUSE Backports SLE 15.0 Chrome packageIf running OpenSUSE Backports SLE 15.0, check installed Chrome/Chromium packages with 'rpm -qa | grep -i chrome' or 'zypper search -i chrome'Affected if Any Chrome or Chromium package from this distribution is installed and reports a version prior to 80.0.3987.87
A user is affected if their installed Google Chrome or Chromium-based browser version is below 80.0.3987.87, enabling IDN homograph domain spoofing in the address bar.
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 data80.0.3987.87
Upgrade Google Chrome to version 80.0.3987.87 or later to receive the patch. For enterprise deployments, push the updated browser version via centralized software distribution tools and verify compliance.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6401 — 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-2020-6401 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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- 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