CVE-2020-16013
Memory Safety in Google Chrome ≤ 86.0.4240.198
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2020-16013 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 15% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2020-16013 is an inappropriate implementation flaw in the V8 JavaScript engine within Google Chrome versions prior to 86.0.4240.198. The issue is categorized under CWE-787 and manifests as heap corruption that can be triggered by a specially crafted HTML page. It received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges.
A remote attacker can exploit the vulnerability by persuading a user to visit a malicious web page, after which heap corruption may be achieved. Successful exploitation can result in impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, consistent with the high-severity rating.
Chrome stable-channel updates released on 11 November 2020 address the flaw by updating V8 to a corrected version. The vulnerability also appears in CISA’s catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, confirming observed in-the-wild use.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-1474
Vulnerability Data
Inappropriate implementation in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 86.0.4240.198 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
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.
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.
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.
Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.
Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.