ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2023-5481
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 · uneditedInappropriate implementation in Downloads in Google Chrome prior to 118.0.5993.70 allowed a remote attacker to spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. (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 confidenceThis is a UI spoofing vulnerability in Google Chrome's Downloads component. A remote attacker can craft a malicious HTML page that spoofs security UI elements, potentially tricking users into trusting malicious downloads or taking unintended security-relevant actions. The vulnerability exists in Chrome versions prior to 118.0.5993.70.
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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Chrome versionOpen chrome://version in the Chrome browser or run 'google-chrome --version' (or 'chrome --version') in the terminalAffected if The reported version is lower than 118.0.5993.70
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Check Chrome package version on Debian LinuxRun 'dpkg -l | grep google-chrome' or 'apt-cache policy google-chrome-stable' to see the installed and available package versionsAffected if The installed package version is lower than 118.0.5993.70-1 (or the version string indicates a build earlier than 118.0.5993.70)
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Verify the Downloads component is accessibleConfirm you can access the Downloads page in Chrome (navigate to chrome://downloads or press Ctrl+J)Affected if This check confirms the vulnerable component exists; the spoofing risk applies to any user who can access Downloads
You are affected if your Google Chrome installation (or the google-chrome-stable Debian package) reports a version earlier than 118.0.5993.70.
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
Upgrade Google Chrome to version 118.0.5993.70 or later. No other configuration changes are required as this is a browser-level fix.
Chrome 118.0.5993.70 or later
- Update package lists: sudo apt update
- Upgrade Google Chrome: sudo apt upgrade google-chrome-stable
- Restart the browser to complete the update
- Verify the installed version: google-chrome-stable --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-5481 — 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-2023-5481 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data