# CVE-2016-5221: Google Chrome type confusion in ANGLE libGLESv2

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2016-5221-google-chrome-type-confusion-in-angle-libglesv2  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2017-01-19. Updated: 2026-05-13  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2016-5221 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.3 · Published 2017-01-19

A vulnerability was identified in Google Chrome's graphics engine (ANGLE) that could allow a malicious website to bypass security checks. By tricking a user into visiting a specially crafted web page, an attacker could potentially access sensitive information or cause the browser to crash. This affects users on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android platforms.

Technologies: [Google Chrome](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/chrome), [Google Chromium](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/chromium). Vendors: [Google](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/google).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2016-5221 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2016-5221 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2016-5221?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.3, published 19 January 2017.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Google Chromium < 55.0.2883.75.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2016-5221?** A patch was published on 2016-12-05: Gentoo released updated Chromium packages. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2016-5221 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2016-5221?** Check whether you run Google Chrome or Google Chromium at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A type confusion vulnerability exists in the libGLESv2 component of the Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine (ANGLE) used by Google Chrome. The flaw is rooted in an integer overflow (CWE-190) that occurs during the processing of graphics content. A remote attacker can exploit this by hosting a malicious HTML page; when a victim visits the page, the attacker can bypass buffer validation. This could lead to out-of-bounds memory access, potentially resulting in information disclosure, data integrity issues, or a denial-of-service (crash). The issue was resolved in Chrome version 55.0.2883.75 for desktop and 55.0.2883.84 for Android.

## Affected products

- Google Chrome < 55.0.2883.75 (Desktop), < 55.0.2883.84 (Android)
- Google Chromium < 55.0.2883.75

## Timeline

- 2016-12-01: advisory: Google released Chrome 55.0.2883.75 for desktop platforms.
- 2016-12-05: patched: Gentoo released updated Chromium packages.
- 2016-12-07: patched: Red Hat released security updates for chromium-browser.
- 2017-01-19: disclosed: NVD published the CVE record.

## References

- [http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2919.html](http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2919.html)
- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94633](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94633)
- [https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2016/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html](https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2016/12/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html)
- [https://crbug.com/660854](https://crbug.com/660854)
- [https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-11](https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-11)

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