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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Arbitrary read/write and RCE in Chrome V8

IdentifiersCVE-2016-5198CWE-119

CVE-2016-5198 is a vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine used by Google Chrome. According to the provided content, affected versions are Chrome prior to 54.0.2840.90 on Linux, prior to 54.0.2840.85 on Android, and prior to 54.0.2840.87 on Windows and Mac. The flaw was caused by incorrect optimisation assumptions in V8, which allowed a remote attacker to trigger arbitrary memory read and write operations via a crafted HTML page. In practical exploitation, this memory corruption condition could be used to break normal memory safety guarantees in the renderer context and achieve code execution.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a remote attacker to obtain arbitrary read/write primitives in the browser process handling the crafted content and leverage those primitives toward code execution. This can result in full compromise of the targeted browser context, execution of attacker-controlled code, and subsequent delivery of malware or spyware. In the campaign context provided, the vulnerability was one of several Chrome exploits incorporated into an Android exploitation framework used for one-click mobile compromise.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Where immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by restricting use of outdated Chrome/Chromium builds, limiting access to untrusted web content, and using application control or mobile device management to prevent installation and use of obsolete browser versions. On mobile targets, minimizing use of embedded or app-invoked browser contexts for untrusted links may reduce exploit exposure, but patching is the primary mitigation.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Google Chrome to a fixed version or later: 54.0.2840.90 or later on Linux, 54.0.2840.85 or later on Android, and 54.0.2840.87 or later on Windows and Mac. More generally, ensure Chromium-based browsers on affected platforms are updated to vendor-patched builds that include the V8 fix for CVE-2016-5198.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
GoogleChromeapplication
Red HatEnterprise Linux Desktopoperating_system
Red HatEnterprise Linux Serveroperating_system
Red HatEnterprise Linux Workstationoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

2 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

2 SOURCESView more in app
What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
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Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence2

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware3

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures1

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.

EXTERNAL REFERENCES
MITRE CVE
cve.org · CVE-2016-5198
NVD
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5198
MITRE CWE · CWE-119
cwe.mitre.org
Vendor Advisory
chromereleases.googleblog.com/2016/11/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
Third Party Advisory
rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2672.html
Exploit
crbug.com/659475
US Government Resource
cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-5198