CVE-2020-15999
Memory Safety in Google Chrome ≤ 86.0.4240.111
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2020-15999 is a critical-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 9.6 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The vulnerability CVE-2020-15999 is a heap buffer overflow in the Freetype component of Google Chrome versions prior to 86.0.4240.111. It is tracked under CWEs 787 and 120 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.6 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability with changed scope.
A remote attacker can trigger the flaw by causing a victim to render a crafted HTML page, resulting in heap corruption that may be leveraged for further exploitation.
Chrome stable channel updates and downstream advisories such as the openSUSE security announcement direct users to upgrade to version 86.0.4240.111 or later. A detailed root-cause analysis is available from Google Project Zero.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-1435
Vulnerability Data
Heap buffer overflow in Freetype in Google Chrome prior to 86.0.4240.111 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.
Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.
Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.
Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.
Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.