# CVE-2016-5224: Google Chrome Same Origin Policy bypass in SVG filters

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2016-5224-google-chrome-same-origin-policy-bypass-in-svg-filters  
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-2016-5224 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.3 · Published 2017-01-19

A vulnerability in Google Chrome's web rendering engine could allow a malicious website to bypass security boundaries that normally prevent sites from interacting with each other. By using a specialized timing attack related to how the browser processes graphics (SVG filters), an attacker could potentially access or manipulate data from other open websites. This could lead to unauthorized access to user sessions or sensitive information if a victim visits a specially crafted web page.

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-2016-5224 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2016-5224 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2016-5224?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.3, published 19 January 2017.

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

**Is there a fix for CVE-2016-5224?** A patch was published on 2016-12-07: Red Hat Enterprise Linux security update released Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2016-5224 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2016-5224?** 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 side-channel timing attack exists in the Blink rendering engine's implementation of SVG filters. The vulnerability stems from the way denormalized floating point arithmetic is handled during graphics processing, which exhibits measurable timing differences. A remote attacker can exploit this by enticing a user to visit a malicious HTML page containing crafted SVG content. By measuring the time taken to process these filters, the attacker can bypass the Same Origin Policy (SOP) to infer information about content from different origins. The issue was addressed in Google Chrome version 55.0.2883.75 for desktop and 55.0.2883.84 for Android.

## Affected products

- Google Chrome Prior to 55.0.2883.75 (Desktop); Prior to 55.0.2883.84 (Android)
- Google Chromium Prior to 55.0.2883.75

## Timeline

- 2016-12-01: advisory: Google Chrome stable channel update released
- 2016-12-05: advisory: Gentoo Linux security advisory published
- 2016-12-07: patched: Red Hat Enterprise Linux security update released
- 2017-01-19: disclosed: NVD publication date

## 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/615851](https://crbug.com/615851)
- [https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-11](https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-11)

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