Threats / Google / CVE-2020-15999
CVE-2020-15999
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Google Chrome FreeType vulnerability
Heap buffer overflow in FreeType's Load_SBit_Png function when processing PNG images embedded in fonts, affecting Google Chrome. Exploited in the wild as part of multi-CVE exploit chains.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A memory corruption vulnerability in font rendering that enables remote code execution through malicious font files. Active exploitation demonstrates high real-world risk despite no ransomware association.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
6 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.5063 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Google, Chrome FreeType. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
Craft a malicious font file containing a specially-formed PNG image to trigger heap buffer overflow in FreeType's Load_SBit_Png function.
Business
Attacker gains arbitrary code execution within the browser process with user privileges, enabling data theft, malware installation, or lateral movement.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
Chain this vulnerability with platform-specific exploits (CVE-2020-17087 on Windows, CVE-2020-16010 on Android) to escalate from browser sandbox to system level.
Business
Complete system compromise becomes possible, allowing attackers to bypass security boundaries and establish persistent control.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05