ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2021-38016
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 policy enforcement in background fetch in Google Chrome prior to 96.0.4664.45 allowed a remote attacker to bypass same origin policy 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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Google Chrome's background fetch API (prior to version 96.0.4664.45) allowed insufficient policy enforcement, enabling a remote attacker to bypass the same-origin policy through a crafted HTML page. The background fetch feature, designed to allow large resource downloads even when users close the browser, had a flaw that could be exploited to perform cross-origin requests.
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
< 96.0.4664.45
FedoraOperating system
= 34
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Google Chrome versionNavigate to chrome://settings/help or run 'google-chrome --version' in terminalAffected if The displayed version is earlier than 96.0.4664.45 (for example, 95.x.x.x or 94.x.x.x)
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Verify Chrome build typeCheck if Chrome is the standard stable build or a different channel (beta/dev/canary) by viewing chrome://settings/helpAffected if Running any Chrome version prior to 96.0.4664.45 regardless of channel, as the vulnerability existed in the codebase before that patch
You are affected if the installed Google Chrome version is any release prior to 96.0.4664.45.
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.
dbcve · scoped96.0.4664.45
Update Google Chrome to version 96.0.4664.45 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Organizations should ensure patch management processes include browser updates.
Chrome 96.0.4664.45 or later (or distribution-packaged equivalent)
- Update Google Chrome to version 96.0.4664.45 or later by navigating to chrome://settings/help and clicking 'Update Google Chrome', or by downloading the latest version from official Google Chrome channels
- For Linux distributions (Fedora 34, Debian 10/11), ensure your system package manager pulls the updated chromium or google-chrome package that includes the security fix
- Verify the installed version by navigating to chrome://version and confirm the version number is 96.0.4664.45 or higher
- Restart the browser after updating to ensure the security patch is fully applied
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
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38016 — 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-2021-38016 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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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.
- 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
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