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CVE-2020-15999

Google Chrome FreeType Heap Buffer Overflow

9.6 CRITICALActively exploited (CISA KEV)Public exploitEPSS 63.9%
  1. Published3 Nov 2020
  2. Added to CISA KEV3 Nov 2021
  3. Remediation due17 Nov 2021
Actively exploited (CISA KEV)

Google Chrome uses FreeType, an open-source software library to render fonts, which contains a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the function Load_SBit_Png when processing PNG images embedded into fonts. This vulnerability is part of an exploit chain with CVE-2020-17087 on Windows and CVE-2020-16010 on Android.

Added to KEV: 3 Nov 2021Federal remediation due: 17 Nov 2021

Description

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.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorNetwork
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredNone
User interactionRequired
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Freetype≥ 2.6.0 < 2.10.4
Google Chrome< 86.0.4240.111
Netapp Ontap Select Deploy Administration Utilityall versions
Opensuse Backports Sle15.0
Debian Linux10.0
Fedoraproject Fedora31

Remediation

Fixed in
Freetype≥ 2.10.4
Google Chrome≥ 86.0.4240.111

References

and 2 more references

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Frequently asked

Is CVE-2020-15999 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-15999 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added 3 Nov 2021.

How severe is CVE-2020-15999?

CVE-2020-15999 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6, rated critical. EPSS estimates a 63.9% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2020-15999?

Affected products include Freetype, Google Chrome, Netapp Ontap Select Deploy Administration Utility, Opensuse Backports Sle, Debian Linux, and 1 more.

How do I fix CVE-2020-15999?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Freetype 2.10.4, Google Chrome 86.0.4240.111 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2020-15999 against the real software inventory on every managed device, every day. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. Because it is on the CISA KEV list, Secuno flags any affected asset as top-priority automatically. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.