Actively exploited vulnerability
Google Chromium V8: improper access control flaw under attack
CVE-2021-21220 · Google Chromium V8 Improper Input Validation Vulnerability
What is affected
Google Chromium V8 is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.
Google Chromium V8 Engine contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. This vulnerability could affect multiple web browsers that utilize Chromium, including, but not limited to, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.
What an attacker can do
This is a improper access control flaw. It lets an attacker perform actions or reach data that should be restricted to authorised users.
- How it is reached
- Over the internet or network
- Access the attacker needs
- No account needed
- Does the victim have to do something?
- Yes, the victim must open or click something
What to do
- Update Google Chromium V8 now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on November 3, 2021, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by November 17, 2021, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.
The EPSS model estimates a 70% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.4% of all scored vulnerabilities.
Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
Insufficient validation of untrusted input in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 89.0.4389.128 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page.