CVE-2020-6480 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Insufficient policy enforcement in enterprise in Google Chrome prior to 83.0.4103.61 allowed a local attacker to bypass navigation restrictions via UI actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-6480 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome's enterprise policy enforcement mechanisms that persisted through versions prior to 83.0.4103.61. This issue specifically targets the browser's navigation restriction capabilities within enterprise environments where administrators implement strict security policies to control user access and prevent unauthorized web navigation. The flaw manifests as an insufficient enforcement of enterprise-level policies that should typically prevent users from bypassing configured navigation restrictions through legitimate user interface interactions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from a design flaw in how Chrome processes user interface actions that could potentially circumvent established policy controls. When enterprise administrators configure navigation restrictions through policy settings, these controls should prevent users from accessing specific websites or navigating to unauthorized locations. However, the vulnerability allows local attackers to exploit UI-based actions that should be restricted by policy enforcement mechanisms, effectively creating a bypass pathway that undermines the intended security posture. This weakness operates at the intersection of user interface processing and policy enforcement systems, where legitimate user interactions are not properly validated against configured security policies.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple policy bypass scenarios and creates significant risks for enterprise security environments. Local attackers with access to compromised systems can exploit this weakness to circumvent corporate web filtering policies, potentially gaining access to restricted websites, malicious domains, or sensitive internal resources that should remain inaccessible. The implications are particularly severe in organizations with strict compliance requirements or those handling sensitive data, where navigation restrictions serve as critical control mechanisms. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform reconnaissance activities, access unauthorized resources, or establish persistence within network environments by bypassing security controls that should prevent such access.
Enterprise organizations using Chrome browsers should implement immediate mitigation strategies including prompt deployment of Chrome version 83.0.4103.61 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this policy enforcement weakness. Administrators should also conduct comprehensive audits of their existing enterprise policies to identify potential exploitation vectors and consider implementing additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized navigation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-693 which addresses protection mechanism failures, specifically focusing on inadequate policy enforcement in browser environments. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol: web protocols, and represents a privilege escalation vector that could enable attackers to bypass security controls. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based monitoring solutions to detect anomalous navigation patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability specifically relates to UI-based actions that could be difficult to detect through traditional endpoint monitoring approaches.