CVE-2020-6441 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Insufficient policy enforcement in omnibox in Google Chrome prior to 81.0.4044.92 allowed a remote attacker to bypass security UI via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-6441 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome's omnibox implementation that existed prior to version 81.0.4044.92. This issue stems from inadequate policy enforcement mechanisms within the browser's address bar functionality, specifically affecting how Chrome handles user interface security prompts and warnings. The vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient policy enforcement as classified by CWE-693, which deals with security mechanisms that are not properly enforced or implemented. The omnibox, being a critical component for user navigation and security awareness, serves as a primary interface for displaying security warnings and validating user inputs. When security policies fail to properly validate or enforce restrictions, attackers can exploit these gaps to manipulate the user interface in ways that bypass intended security protections.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the crafting of malicious HTML pages that can manipulate how Chrome presents security warnings to users. Attackers can construct web pages that appear to be legitimate while simultaneously bypassing the browser's built-in security UI elements that would normally alert users to potential threats. This type of attack leverages the browser's trust model and user interface presentation logic, where the security warnings that should appear when users navigate to potentially dangerous sites are either suppressed or manipulated to appear misleading. The flaw essentially allows attackers to create a false sense of security by manipulating the visual cues that users rely upon for identifying dangerous web content. This manipulation can occur through various techniques including HTML injection, JavaScript manipulation, or leveraging browser rendering quirks that affect how security warnings are displayed or suppressed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple phishing attempts or malicious website redirection. When users are unable to properly see or understand security warnings, they become more susceptible to social engineering attacks and can be misled into trusting malicious websites. The vulnerability essentially undermines user trust in the browser's security model and can lead to more serious consequences such as credential theft, malware installation, or data exfiltration. Users who rely on Chrome's security UI for protection may unknowingly proceed to dangerous websites, believing they are safe when in fact they are not. This vulnerability particularly affects users who depend on visual security indicators as their primary means of assessing website legitimacy and can significantly increase the success rate of targeted attacks against Chrome users. The impact is compounded by the fact that many users have come to rely on these visual warnings as their primary defense mechanism against web-based threats.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-6441 primarily involve upgrading to Google Chrome version 81.0.4044.92 or later, where the insufficient policy enforcement has been addressed through improved security mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all Chrome installations are updated promptly. Additionally, users should be educated about the importance of not solely relying on visual security indicators but also verifying website legitimacy through multiple means including certificate inspection and URL verification. Security teams should monitor for any attempts to exploit this vulnerability through web-based attacks and implement network-level protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious HTML content. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-693 emphasizes the need for robust policy enforcement mechanisms and proper validation of security UI elements. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques involving social engineering and credential access through browser-based attacks, making it particularly relevant for organizations implementing security awareness training programs and incident response protocols. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security layers such as content security policies and extended protection mechanisms to reduce the attack surface and provide defense in depth against similar vulnerabilities.