CVE-2020-6467 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use after free in WebRTC in Google Chrome prior to 83.0.4103.61 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-6467 represents a critical use-after-free flaw within the WebRTC implementation of Google Chrome browser versions prior to 83.0.4103.61. This issue falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-416, which specifically addresses the use of freed memory conditions that can lead to unpredictable behavior and potential exploitation by malicious actors. The vulnerability manifests within the WebRTC component responsible for real-time communication capabilities, making it particularly dangerous given the widespread use of WebRTC for video conferencing, instant messaging, and other interactive web applications.
The technical flaw occurs when a malicious HTML page triggers a specific sequence of operations that causes the browser to free memory associated with WebRTC objects while still maintaining references to them. This memory management error creates a situation where subsequent operations attempt to access already deallocated memory regions, resulting in heap corruption that can be exploited by remote attackers. The exploitation mechanism leverages the browser's handling of WebRTC peer connections and media stream objects, where improper memory deallocation occurs during the cleanup process of these components.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote code execution capabilities for attackers who can craft malicious web pages to exploit the heap corruption. The attack surface is extensive as WebRTC is integrated into numerous web applications and services, making the exploitation potential widespread across various online platforms. Users visiting compromised websites could unknowingly trigger the vulnerability, leading to arbitrary code execution on their systems. The risk is particularly elevated in environments where users frequently access untrusted web content or where WebRTC functionality is enabled by default in browser configurations.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrade to Google Chrome version 83.0.4103.61 or later, which contains the patched implementation that properly handles memory deallocation for WebRTC objects. Additionally, organizations should implement network-level controls to monitor and restrict access to potentially malicious websites, while ensuring that browser security policies are configured to limit WebRTC functionality where not strictly necessary. Security teams should also consider implementing browser hardening measures and monitoring for suspicious memory access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in complex browser components and highlights the need for continuous security assessment of web technologies that handle real-time communication data streams.