CVE-2026-106277 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 10/06/2026
Information leak in Animation in Google Chrome prior to 155.0.8059.39 allowed a remote attacker to leak cross-origin data via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as an information leak within the animation subsystem of Google Chrome, specifically in versions prior to 155.0.8059.39, represents a significant breach of browser isolation principles. This flaw allows a remote attacker to exfiltrate cross-origin data by leveraging crafted HTML pages that exploit timing side-channels or state leakage inherent in the rendering engine's animation handling mechanisms. The core technical issue stems from how Chrome processes and exposes internal states related to CSS animations or JavaScript-driven visual transitions, which inadvertently reveal sensitive information about resources loaded from different origins than the page itself. By carefully crafting a webpage with specific animation triggers and monitoring their behavior through high-resolution timers or other observable side effects, an attacker can deduce properties of cross-origin content that should remain strictly isolated under normal browsing conditions.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability falls squarely under CWE-200: Information Exposure, as it involves the unintended disclosure of information to unauthorized actors. The exploitation vector relies on the browser's failure to properly sanitize or obscure internal state changes during animation processing when interacting with cross-origin resources. In modern web browsers, the Same-Origin Policy is a critical security model that restricts how documents or scripts loaded from one origin can interact with resources from another origin. When this policy is bypassed through side-channel attacks like those facilitated by animation leaks, it undermines the fundamental trust boundary between different websites and applications running within the same browser instance. The Chromium project classified this issue as Medium severity because while it does not allow for direct code execution or full system compromise, it enables sophisticated data theft that can be used in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to achieve more severe outcomes such as account takeover or sensitive document extraction.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is particularly concerning given the prevalence of complex web applications and single-page architectures that rely heavily on dynamic animations and transitions for user experience enhancements. Attackers could deploy malicious websites designed to probe target environments, potentially identifying specific technologies in use, detecting active sessions, or extracting data from internal dashboards if users happen to have those tabs open while visiting the crafted page. This type of attack is difficult to detect using traditional security monitoring tools because it does not generate obvious network anomalies or error logs; instead, it operates silently within the client-side rendering pipeline. The ability to leak cross-origin data effectively breaks the isolation model that protects user privacy and organizational data integrity, making this a high-risk issue for enterprises deploying Chrome as their primary browser without adequate mitigation strategies in place.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must ensure that all instances of Google Chrome are updated to version 155.0.8059.39 or later where the underlying animation handling logic has been patched to prevent such information leakage. Beyond immediate patching, implementing Content Security Policy headers can help restrict how scripts interact with external resources and reduce the attack surface for side-channel exploits. Additionally, deploying browser isolation solutions or sandboxed environments can further limit the potential impact by ensuring that even if a vulnerability is exploited, the attacker cannot access sensitive data from other contexts within the same user profile. Monitoring for unusual patterns in client-side performance metrics may also aid in detecting ongoing exploitation attempts, although this requires sophisticated endpoint detection and response capabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes such activities under T1056: Input Capture or potentially T1048: Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol depending on the specific method of data extraction, highlighting the need for comprehensive visibility into client-side behaviors to defend against these subtle but potent threats.