dbcve.org
ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2021-21219

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 90.0.4430.72 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 data in PDFium in Google Chrome prior to 90.0.4430.72 allowed a remote attacker to obtain potentially sensitive information from process memory via a crafted PDF file.

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

This is an information disclosure vulnerability in PDFium (Google's PDF rendering engine) within Google Chrome. The issue involves uninitialized data being read from process memory during PDF parsing. A remote attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted malicious PDF file, potentially exposing sensitive data from the process memory space.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 90.0.4430.72 or later to patch the vulnerability. Organizations should ensure automated browser update mechanisms or deploy the patch via enterprise management tools.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify installed Google Chrome version
    Navigate to chrome://settings/help or run 'google-chrome --version' in terminal to see the exact version number
    Affected if Version is lower than 90.0.4430.72
  2. Verify Chrome is used for PDF handling
    Confirm that Google Chrome is the default or commonly used application for opening PDF files in the environment
    Affected if Chrome is configured to open PDF files and the version is vulnerable
  3. Check for recent PDF parsing activity
    Review browser history or logs for recent PDF file openings, particularly from untrusted or external sources
    Affected if Users have opened PDF files in Chrome versions below 90.0.4430.72

A user is affected if Google Chrome version 90.0.4430.72 or later is not installed AND users open PDF files with the browser.

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 90.0.4430.72 or later
Fixed in 90.0.4430.72
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 90.0.4430.72 or later to patch the vulnerability. Organizations should ensure automated browser update mechanisms or deploy the patch via enterprise management tools.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21219 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-21219 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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