PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief
CVE-2016-5219 Google CVE debrief
CVE-2016-5219 is a Google Chrome V8 heap use-after-free that a remote attacker could potentially abuse with a crafted HTML page to cause heap corruption. NVD rates the issue CVSS 6.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L), which means exploitation requires user interaction but can still affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
- Vendor
- Product
- Chrome
- CVSS
- MEDIUM 6.3
- CISA KEV
- Not listed in stored evidence
- Original CVE published
- 2017-01-19
- Original CVE updated
- 2026-05-13
- Advisory published
- 2017-01-19
- Advisory updated
- 2026-05-13
Who should care
Administrators and security teams managing Google Chrome on desktop or Android, especially where users routinely browse untrusted web content or where browser updates are centrally managed.
Technical summary
NVD identifies the weakness as CWE-416 (Use After Free) in V8, Chrome's JavaScript engine. The vulnerability is described as a heap use-after-free that can lead to heap corruption when processing a crafted HTML page. The CVE description says affected Chrome builds were older than 55.0.2883.75 on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and older than 55.0.2883.84 on Android. NVD also lists vulnerable Chrome versions through 54.0.2840.99 in its CPE data.
Defensive priority
Medium. This is a network-reachable browser memory-corruption issue that requires user interaction, so it is not the highest urgency class, but it should still be patched promptly across exposed user fleets.
Recommended defensive actions
- Update Google Chrome to 55.0.2883.75 or later on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and to 55.0.2883.84 or later on Android.
- Verify deployed Chrome versions across managed desktops and mobile devices to ensure no affected builds remain in service.
- Prioritize remediation for users who regularly open untrusted links or HTML content from email, messaging, or the web.
- Treat unexpected browser crashes on affected versions as a signal to accelerate patching and review update compliance.
Evidence notes
Primary evidence comes from the NVD record, which publishes the CVE description, CVSS 3.0 vector, and CWE-416 mapping. The NVD reference list points to Google's Chrome stable channel update for desktop, Chromium issue 657568, and downstream advisories from Red Hat, SecurityFocus, and Gentoo. CVE publishedAt is 2017-01-19T05:59:00.900Z, and the NVD record was modified on 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033Z.
Sources and references
Verified primary and authoritative sources
-
CVE-2016-5219 CVE Program record
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5219
CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.
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CVE-2016-5219 NVD vulnerability detail
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5219
NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.
Supplemental references
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Source reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2016/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html
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Source reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://crbug.com/657568
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Source reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-11
Methodology and review provenance
AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.