ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2020-6548

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 84.0.4147.125 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Heap buffer overflow in Skia in Google Chrome prior to 84.0.4147.125 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially exploit heap corruption 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

Heap buffer overflow vulnerability in Skia (2D graphics library) within Google Chrome allows a remote attacker with already-compromised renderer process to exploit heap corruption via malicious HTML page.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 84.0.4147.125 or later to patch the Skia heap buffer overflow; enterprise deployments should use centralized update management to ensure fleet-wide coverage.

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:< 84.0.4147.125
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 33

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine if Google Chrome is installed
    Check for Chrome executable: on Linux run 'which google-chrome' or 'which chromium-browser'; on Windows check C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
    Affected if Chrome browser is not found on the system, this CVE does not apply
  2. Check installed Chrome version
    Run 'google-chrome --version' or 'chromium-browser --version' on Linux; on Windows run '"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --version' in Command Prompt
    Affected if Version number returned is less than 84.0.4147.125 (for example, 84.0.4147.120 or lower)
  3. Verify the renderer process can be exploited
    This CVE requires a previously compromised renderer process - check for any unexpected extensions, unusual browser behavior, or unauthorized remote connections to renderer processes
    Affected if The environment has an already-compromised renderer process AND Chrome version is below 84.0.4147.125

A user is affected if they have Google Chrome installed with a version lower than 84.0.4147.125 and their renderer process has been compromised by a remote attacker.

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 84.0.4147.125 or later
Fixed in 84.0.4147.125
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 84.0.4147.125 or later to patch the Skia heap buffer overflow; enterprise deployments should use centralized update management to ensure fleet-wide coverage.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6548 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-6548 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