Google Chrome/Microsoft Edge Chromium version 78.0.x or later, error "Aw, Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage." when using Endpoint Protection

Products

• Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

When launching Google Chrome version 78.0.x or later, the message "Aw Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage." or "STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH" is present if any version of Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) is installed with the Application Control feature on Windows Server 2016 or Windows 10 RS1.

This issue also affects Microsoft Edge Chromium version 78.0.x with an error message of "Page cannot be displayed" or "STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH".

Chrome and Chromium are also impacted when installed on any Operating System (OS) with a SEP version older than 14.2 RU2 MP1.

Environment

• Browser versions 
  • Google Chrome 78.0.x or later
  • Microsoft Edge Chromium 78.0.x or later
• Any Windows OS with a SEP version of 14.2 RU2 and lower installed.

Cause

In versions of Google Chrome (chrome.exe) and versions of Microsoft Edge Chromium, Microsoft's Code Integrity feature is enabled. SEP Application Control technology is not compatible with this feature in Chrome/Chromium.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) version 14.2 RU2 MP1 (build 14.2.5569.2100), upgrade to this version or newer to resolve this issue.

 

Alternative Workarounds

If upgrading SEP is not an option, or the OS is one of those listed above, the incompatibility can be worked around by adding an Application Control exception for Chrome (Chrome.exe) and/or Microsoft Edge Chromium (MSEdge.exe).

Alternative options also include running Chrome with Code Integrity disabled:

Chrome.exe --disable-features=RendererCodeIntegrity 

Or by setting the following regkey value to 0:

Key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
Name: RendererCodeIntegrityEnabled
Type: DWORD (32-bit)
Value: 0

Note: If the regkey does not exist, create the registry key.