CVE-2026-102316 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 09/29/2026
Use after free in Views in Google Chrome prior to 154.0.8037.92 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/29/2026
The vulnerability identified as a use-after-free error within Google Chrome's Views component represents a critical memory management flaw that compromises the browser's integrity and isolation mechanisms. This specific defect occurs when an object is accessed after its memory has been deallocated, leading to undefined behavior that can be exploited by malicious actors. In this instance, the flaw resides in the rendering engine or user interface layer responsible for managing view objects within the Chromium architecture. When a crafted HTML page triggers the creation and subsequent premature deletion of specific UI elements, the browser retains references to these freed memory locations. If an attacker can manipulate the application state such that it attempts to access or execute code through these dangling pointers before the memory is reallocated for other purposes, they gain control over the execution flow within the process context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote code execution outside the browser's sandbox environment. Chrome employs a multi-process architecture with strict sandboxes designed to limit the damage caused by compromised processes. However, use-after-free vulnerabilities in components like Views often reside in higher-privilege processes or can be leveraged to escape these restrictions through complex exploitation chains involving other memory corruption bugs. By leveraging social engineering techniques, such as tricking a user into visiting a malicious website containing specially crafted HTML and JavaScript payloads, an attacker can trigger the vulnerability remotely without any prior access to the victim's system. Once triggered, this flaw allows for arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the browser process, effectively bypassing security boundaries that are intended to protect the underlying operating system from untrusted web content.
From a classification perspective, this issue aligns closely with CWE-416, which describes Use After Free vulnerabilities where memory is accessed after it has been freed. This category of bugs is particularly dangerous because they can lead to arbitrary read and write primitives, facilitating further exploitation steps such as heap spraying or control flow hijacking. In the context of modern browser security models, this flaw also relates to ATT&CK technique T1059, Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically when used for initial access via social engineering followed by execution within a compromised environment. The severity rating of High from Chromium reflects the likelihood of successful exploitation given the prevalence of such memory corruption bugs in complex software systems and their direct path to code execution.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve updating Google Chrome to version 154.0.8037.92 or later, where this specific use-after-free condition has been addressed by developers through improved lifecycle management of view objects and stricter checks on pointer validity before access. Organizations should enforce automated patching policies for all endpoints running the affected browser software to minimize the window of exposure. Additionally, users are advised to exercise caution when interacting with untrusted web content, as social engineering remains a primary vector for delivering exploits that target such vulnerabilities. Security teams may also consider implementing application whitelisting or restricting script execution in high-risk zones within their browsers to add an additional layer of defense against potential exploitation attempts targeting memory corruption flaws.