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HIGH · CVSS 8.8 CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

CVE-2016-5198

Google Chromium V8 Out-of-Bounds Memory Vulnerability

Google Chromium V8

V8 in Google Chrome prior to 54.0.2840.90 for Linux, and 54.0.2840.85 for Android, and 54.0.2840.87 for Windows and Mac included incorrect optimisation assumptions, which allowed a remote attacker to perform arbitrary read/write operations, leading to code execution, via a crafted HTML page.

CVSS
8.8
HIGH
EPSS
34.2%
30-day exploitation
Ransomware groups
0
recorded exploiting
Published
19 Jan 2017
CWE-787

Exploitation status

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Listed by CISA on 8 June 2022. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 22 June 2022.

EPSS — exploitation probability

FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 34.2%, which is higher than 98.4% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2016-5198 being exploited by ransomware groups?

No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2016-5198.

What does CVE-2016-5198 affect?

CVE-2016-5198 affects Google Chromium V8. V8 in Google Chrome prior to 54.0.2840.90 for Linux, and 54.0.2840.85 for Android, and 54.0.2840.87 for Windows and Mac included incorrect optimisation assumptions, which allowed a remote attacker to perform arbitrary read/write operations, leading to code execution, via a crafted HTML page.

How severe is CVE-2016-5198?

CVE-2016-5198 is rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 8.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 34.2%, higher than 98.4% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 22 June 2022.

How should organisations respond to CVE-2016-5198?

Apply the vendor patch for Google Chromium V8 as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.