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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2021-37988

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 95.0.4638.54 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
Use after free in Profiles in Google Chrome prior to 95.0.4638.54 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific gestures 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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Profiles component of Google Chrome versions prior to 95.0.4638.54. An attacker who tricks a user into performing specific gestures (such as clicking or scrolling) on a maliciously crafted HTML page can trigger heap corruption by accessing freed memory, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate Google Chrome to version 95.0.4638.54 or later to patch the use-after-free vulnerability in the Profiles component.

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:< 95.0.4638.54
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0

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. Check Google Chrome browser version
    Open Chrome, click the three-dot menu in the top-right, select Help, then About Google Chrome. The version number is displayed on that page.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 95.0.4638.54 (for example, 94.0.4606.71 or earlier)
  2. Check Chromium package version on Debian
    Open a terminal and run: dpkg -l | grep chromium or apt show chromium | grep Version
    Affected if The listed chromium package version is lower than 95.0.4638.54-1~deb11u1 (for Debian 11) or the equivalent version for Debian 10
  3. Confirm the Profiles feature is in use
    The Profiles component is always active when Chrome is running with any user profile. Check if Chrome is being used with multiple profiles or if a profile is actively loaded by going to Settings > Profiles in the browser.
    Affected if Any active Chrome profile is in use on an affected version (the vulnerability triggers through malicious pages while using the browser)
  4. Check Chrome channel version (if using beta/dev/canary)
    In the About Google Chrome page, also note if the browser indicates it is Beta, Dev, or Canary channel. These may have different version numbers.
    Affected if The version is from Beta, Dev, or Canary channel and is lower than the stable 95.0.4638.54 release

You are affected if the installed Chrome or Chromium version is less than 95.0.4638.54 while using any active user profile.

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 95.0.4638.54 or later
Fixed in 95.0.4638.54
Interim mitigation

Update Google Chrome to version 95.0.4638.54 or later to patch the use-after-free vulnerability in the Profiles component.

Recommended fix High confidence

Chrome 95.0.4638.54 or later (or corresponding Debian chromium package version)

  1. 1. Check current Chrome version by navigating to chrome://settings/help
  2. 2. For Chrome Browser: Allow automatic updates or manually trigger an update to version 95.0.4638.54 or later
  3. 3. For Debian Linux 10/11: Run 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade' to install the updated chromium package
  4. 4. Restart Chrome browser after the update completes
  5. 5. Verify the version is 95.0.4638.54 or later by revisiting chrome://settings/help

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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-2021-37988 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