Cyber Resilience

CVE-2020-16010

CriticalCISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD Exploited

Published: 03 November 2020

Published
03 November 2020
Modified
14 January 2026
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch
CVSS Score v3.1 9.6 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.1963 95.6th percentile
Risk Priority 51 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2020-16010 is a critical-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 9.6 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 4.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Deeper analysis

The vulnerability CVE-2020-16010 is a heap buffer overflow in the UI component of Google Chrome on Android in versions prior to 86.0.4240.185. It is tracked under CWEs 787 and 122 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.6.

A remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process can exploit the flaw by delivering a crafted HTML page, potentially achieving a sandbox escape that yields high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Google's Chrome release notes direct users to update to version 86.0.4240.185 or later. The issue is also catalogued by CISA among known exploited vulnerabilities.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Heap buffer overflow in UI in Google Chrome on Android prior to 86.0.4240.185 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.

Affected Assets

google
chrome
≤ 86.0.4240.185

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely application of the vendor patch (Chrome 86.0.4240.185+) that eliminates the heap buffer overflow.

prevent

Enforces memory-protection mechanisms that block exploitation of heap buffer overflows such as CWE-787/122.

prevent

Requires process isolation boundaries whose bypass is exactly the sandbox-escape objective of this renderer-to-UI flaw.

References