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Known Exploited Vulnerability
9.6
CRITICAL CVSS 3.1
CVE-2020-16017
Google Chrome Use-After-Free Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
Description

Use after free in site isolation in Google Chrome prior to 86.0.4240.198 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.

INFO

Published Date :

Jan. 8, 2021, 7:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 24, 2025, 8:56 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]
CISA Notification
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.

Description :

Google Chrome contains a use-after-free vulnerability that allows a remote attacker, who has compromised the renderer process, to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.

Required Action :

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Notes :

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16017

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2020-16017 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Google chrome
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 2.0 MEDIUM [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Solution
A use-after-free vulnerability exists in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, which could allow for sandbox escape.
  • Upgrade to Google Chrome or Chromium version 86.0.4240.198 or later.
  • Upgrade to Microsoft Edge version 86.0.622.69 or later.
  • Update any affected browser packages provided by your OS.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2020-16017 has a 4 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2020-16017.

URL Resource
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_11.html Release Notes Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1146709 Permissions Required Vendor Advisory
https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_11.html Release Notes Vendor Advisory
https://crbug.com/1146709 Permissions Required Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-16017 US Government Resource
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2020-16017 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2020-16017 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Profile Photo
wh1ant/vulnjs

Research browsers

Updated: 4 months, 1 week ago
40 stars 6 fork 6 watcher
Born at : March 10, 2025, 5:37 p.m. This repo has been linked 83 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
gmh5225/vulnjs

Research browsers

JavaScript HTML

Updated: 7 months, 2 weeks ago
0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : March 10, 2025, 2:35 p.m. This repo has been linked 83 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
chenghungpan/test_data

None

Updated: 1 year, 6 months ago
0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : April 6, 2024, 4:08 p.m. This repo has been linked 19 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
Ostorlab/KEV

Ostorlab KEV: One-command to detect most remotely known exploitable vulnerabilities. Sourced from CISA KEV, Google's Tsunami, Ostorlab's Asteroid and Bug Bounty programs.

cisa-kev vulnerability 0day cisa exploits

Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago
588 stars 42 fork 42 watcher
Born at : April 19, 2022, 8:58 a.m. This repo has been linked 1290 different CVEs too.

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2020-16017 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2020-16017 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Modified Analysis by [email protected]

    Oct. 24, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-16017 Types: US Government Resource
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Oct. 22, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-16017
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Oct. 21, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-16017
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Oct. 21, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-16017
  • Modified Analysis by [email protected]

    Feb. 05, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Feb. 03, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-416
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_11.html
    Added Reference https://crbug.com/1146709
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Jan. 11, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 Metadata Victim must voluntarily interact with attack mechanism
    Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P)
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_11.html No Types Assigned https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2020/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_11.html Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://crbug.com/1146709 No Types Assigned https://crbug.com/1146709 Permissions Required, Vendor Advisory
    Added CWE NIST CWE-416
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:chrome:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 86.0.4240.198
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 9.6
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Base CVSS Score: 6.8
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

9.34 }} -2.10%

score

0.92395

percentile