CVE-2026-11178 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 06/05/2026
Insufficient policy enforcement in WebView in Google Chrome on Android prior to 149.0.7827.53 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 • 06/06/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical weakness in Chrome's WebView implementation on Android platforms where the browser's security policies fail to properly enforce cross-origin restrictions. The flaw exists in the rendering engine's handling of web content, specifically allowing malicious actors to craft HTML pages that can bypass the same-origin policy enforcement mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of cross-origin requests and resource access within the WebView component, which serves as the foundation for numerous Android applications that embed web content. Attackers can exploit this weakness by hosting malicious web pages that attempt to access data from different origins, potentially harvesting sensitive information from legitimate web applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the WebView's failure to properly isolate web content from different domains, creating a pathway for data leakage between cross-origin contexts. When a user visits a crafted HTML page, the WebView processes the content without sufficient sandboxing or origin checking, enabling the malicious page to access resources, cookies, local storage, or other sensitive data from other origins. This represents a breakdown in the browser's security model where the principle of least privilege is violated, allowing unauthorized data access that should be restricted by standard web security policies. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the widespread use of WebView components in Android applications, meaning that exploitation could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of apps that rely on Chrome's WebView implementation.
The operational consequences of this vulnerability extend beyond simple data leakage, as it enables sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, credential theft, and information disclosure across different web domains. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform cross-site scripting attacks, harvest user session tokens, or access sensitive user data from authenticated web applications. The medium severity classification reflects the fact that exploitation requires user interaction through a malicious website, but the potential impact on user privacy and application security is significant. Organizations using WebView components in their Android applications face elevated risk, particularly those handling sensitive user information or implementing authentication mechanisms that rely on proper cross-origin isolation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate system updates to Chrome version 149.0.7827.53 or later, which includes patches addressing the policy enforcement gaps in WebView implementations. Application developers should implement additional security measures including content security policy headers, strict origin validation, and regular security audits of their WebView configurations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for operating system command and scripting interface. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls, monitoring for unusual cross-origin access patterns, and conducting regular penetration testing to identify potential exploitation vectors. Additionally, developers should ensure proper WebView configuration including disabling unnecessary features, implementing strict security policies, and regularly reviewing application permissions to minimize the attack surface.