ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2023-5474
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 · uneditedHeap buffer overflow in PDF in Google Chrome prior to 118.0.5993.70 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific user interactions to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted PDF file. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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 confidenceHeap buffer overflow in Google Chrome's PDF rendering component prior to version 118.0.5993.70 allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a specially crafted PDF file. Exploitation requires specific user interactions, such as convincing a user to open or view the malicious PDF.
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
< 118.0.5993.70
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 11.0= 12.0CVSS 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.
-
Check Google Chrome versionOpen chrome://version in the browser address bar, or run 'google-chrome --version' from command line, or check 'About Google Chrome' in the menuAffected if Version displayed is lower than 118.0.5993.70
-
Check Chromium package version on DebianRun 'dpkg -l | grep chromium' or 'apt list --installed | grep chromium' from terminalAffected if Installed chromium version is lower than 118.0.5993.70-1~deb11u1 (Debian 11) or 118.0.5993.70-1 (Debian 12)
-
Confirm PDF rendering is in useThis vulnerability affects the PDF rendering component. No specific configuration check needed as PDF viewing is enabled by default in ChromeAffected if User opens or views any PDF file using Chrome, and the Chrome version is vulnerable
You are affected if your Google Chrome or Debian Chromium version is below 118.0.5993.70 and you open or view PDF files in the browser.
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 · scoped118.0.5993.70
Update Google Chrome to version 118.0.5993.70 or later. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown or unverified sources until the update is applied.
Chrome 118.0.5993.70 or later (or Chrome 118.0.5993.70 for Debian 11/12)
- Open Google Chrome and navigate to Settings > Help > About Google Chrome
- Alternatively, navigate to chrome://settings/help in the address bar
- Chrome will automatically check for and download the latest version
- Wait for the update to complete and click 'Relaunch' to restart Chrome with the updated version
- Alternatively, download the latest stable Chrome from the official website (google.com/chrome) and reinstall
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-2023-5474 — 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-2023-5474 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
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.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data