CVE-2019-5820 : What You Need to Know
Learn about CVE-2019-5820, a security flaw in Google Chrome versions prior to 74.0.3729.108 allowing remote attackers to exploit heap corruption via crafted PDF files. Find mitigation steps and updates here.
A security vulnerability in PDFium in Google Chrome versions earlier than 74.0.3729.108 enabled a potential remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption through a carefully crafted PDF file.
Understanding CVE-2019-5820
Integer overflow in PDFium in Google Chrome prior to 74.0.3729.108 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted PDF file.
What is CVE-2019-5820?
- CVE ID: CVE-2019-5820
- Vendor: Google
- Affected Product: Chrome
- Vulnerability Type: Integer overflow
- Versions Affected: < 74.0.3729.108
The Impact of CVE-2019-5820
- The vulnerability could be exploited by a remote attacker through a malicious PDF file, potentially leading to heap corruption.
Technical Details of CVE-2019-5820
Vulnerability Description
The vulnerability in PDFium in Google Chrome versions prior to 74.0.3729.108 allowed for an integer overflow, enabling potential heap corruption exploitation via a specially crafted PDF file.
Affected Systems and Versions
- Affected Product: Chrome
- Vendor: Google
- Versions Affected: < 74.0.3729.108
Exploitation Mechanism
The vulnerability could be exploited remotely by a threat actor through a carefully manipulated PDF file, potentially resulting in heap corruption.
Mitigation and Prevention
Immediate Steps to Take
- Update Google Chrome to version 74.0.3729.108 or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
- Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.
Long-Term Security Practices
- Regularly update software and applications to the latest versions to patch known vulnerabilities.
- Implement network security measures to detect and prevent malicious PDF files from being executed.
Patching and Updates
- Google released a stable channel update for Chrome to address this vulnerability.