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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2021-21201

CRITICAL · 9.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 90.0.4430.72 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
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
Use after free in permissions in Google Chrome prior to 90.0.4430.72 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 confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's permissions component. A remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process can exploit freed memory to potentially escape the Chrome sandbox and execute arbitrary code on the host system.

MitigationUpgrade Google Chrome to version 90.0.4430.72 or later. In enterprise environments, test browser updates for compatibility before broad deployment.

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:< 90.0.4430.72
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 32= 33= 34

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Google Chrome is installed
    On Windows, check Start menu or Program Files for Google Chrome. On Linux, run 'which google-chrome' or check /usr/bin/google-chrome. On macOS, check /Applications for Google Chrome.
    Affected if Google Chrome browser is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Chrome version
    Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://version, or run 'google-chrome --version' from command line on Linux/macOS. On Windows, right-click the Chrome shortcut and select Properties, or check the file properties of chrome.exe.
    Affected if Version number returned is below 90.0.4430.72
  3. Check Chrome package version on Debian Linux
    If Chrome was installed via apt, run 'dpkg -l | grep google-chrome' or 'apt-cache policy google-chrome-stable'. This applies if using Debian 10.0.
    Affected if Installed package version is less than 90.0.4430.72-1 or the package is from Debian 10.0 repositories with an older version
  4. Check Chrome package version on Fedora
    If Chrome was installed via dnf, run 'dnf list installed google-chrome-stable' or 'rpm -qa | grep google-chrome'. This applies to Fedora 32, 33, or 34.
    Affected if Installed package version is less than 90.0.4430.72-1 or the package is from Fedora 32/33/34 repositories with an older version
  5. Verify the permissions component context
    This vulnerability exploits the permissions component in Chrome. No specific configuration check needed - any use of Chrome's permission prompts (camera, microphone, location, notifications) triggers the affected code path.
    Affected if The browser is running and processes web content with permission requests, which is default behavior

A user is affected if Google Chrome version 90.0.4430.72 or later is NOT installed on their system, particularly on Windows, macOS, Debian 10.0, or Fedora 32/33/34.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 90.0.4430.72 or later
Fixed in 90.0.4430.72
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Google Chrome to version 90.0.4430.72 or later. In enterprise environments, test browser updates for compatibility before broad deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 90.0.4430.72 or later (or equivalent chromium package version from your distribution's security updates)

  1. Check current Chrome/Chromium version by navigating to chrome://settings/help or running 'google-chrome --version' or 'chromium --version'
  2. Update Chrome to version 90.0.4430.72 or later by: 1) Opening Chrome and going to Menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or 2) Using your system's package manager (apt/dnf/yum) to update the chromium or google-chrome package, e.g., 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade' or 'sudo dnf update'
  3. Restart Chrome after the update completes
  4. Verify the fix by checking chrome://settings/help shows version 90.0.4430.72 or higher
Caveat Security update with no expected breaking changes; minor UI changes possible between major versions

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-21201 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