CVE-2020-6547 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Incorrect security UI in media in Google Chrome prior to 84.0.4147.125 allowed a remote attacker to potentially obtain sensitive information via a crafted HTML page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/05/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-6547 represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome's handling of media-related user interfaces prior to version 84.0.4147.125. This issue falls under the category of improper security UI design, where the browser's visual representation of security status fails to accurately reflect the actual security posture of media content. The flaw specifically affects how Chrome presents security indicators when displaying media elements, creating a potential avenue for attackers to exploit the trust placed in these visual cues.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from Chrome's media security UI not properly distinguishing between different types of media content sources. When a user encounters media elements on a web page, the browser displays security indicators to inform users about the trustworthiness of the content. However, in affected versions, these indicators could be manipulated or bypassed through crafted HTML pages that exploit the browser's handling of media elements. The flaw allows attackers to craft malicious web pages that present misleading security information, potentially causing users to trust compromised media content.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to user privacy and security. Attackers could leverage this flaw to create convincing phishing scenarios where media content appears to originate from trusted sources, even when it actually comes from untrusted origins. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as users might be tricked into interacting with malicious media content or providing sensitive information based on the false security indicators. This vulnerability particularly affects users who rely on Chrome's security UI for making decisions about content trustworthiness, potentially leading to more severe consequences such as credential theft or malware installation.
The security implications of CVE-2020-6547 align with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures in security UI design, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering via media content. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor UI design flaws can create substantial security risks when users depend on visual security indicators. Organizations and users should prioritize updating to Chrome version 84.0.4147.125 or later to mitigate this risk. Additionally, security teams should implement monitoring for suspicious media content delivery and educate users about the importance of verifying content sources beyond visual security indicators. The remediation process should include comprehensive browser updates across all affected systems and verification that the updated security UI properly distinguishes between legitimate and malicious media sources.