IRONSMITHINTEL
HIGHCVSS8.8
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2021-38003|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Google Chromium V8 Memory Corruption Vulnerability

Google Chromium V8 Engine has a bug in JSON.stringify, where the internal TheHole value can leak to script code, causing memory corruption. This vulnerability could affect multiple web browsers that utilize Chromium, including, but not limited to, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

Published Nov 23, 2021 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2021-11-17 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Software Vulnerability (CWE-755) (CWE-755) vulnerability in Google Chromium V8. Inappropriate implementation in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 95.0.4638.69 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, no authentication required, and user interaction required.

📧

Phishing link

🖼

Malicious file

🔓

Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running chrome: v < 95.0.4638.69; fedora: 34; debian linux: 10.0, 11.0
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

Active exploitation documented in the wild. Threat-research write-up: https://crbug.com/1263462

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38003
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-38003
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