CVE-2026-113012 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2026
Improper input validation in GPU in Google Chrome prior to 156.0.8078.47 allowed a remote attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as an improper input validation flaw within the GPU subsystem of Google Chrome prior to version 156.0.8078.47 represents a significant breach in browser security architecture. This defect allows for remote code execution by bypassing the sandbox environment that typically isolates web content from the underlying operating system. The root cause lies in insufficient sanitization or boundary checking of data passed to graphics processing unit drivers, which are often written with less rigorous memory safety guarantees than high-level application logic. When a malicious actor constructs an HTML page containing specially crafted elements designed to trigger specific GPU rendering paths, they can exploit these unchecked inputs to corrupt memory structures within the browser process. This exploitation vector is particularly dangerous because it leverages the inherent complexity of graphics APIs and driver interactions, which are frequent targets for sophisticated attackers seeking to escape sandbox restrictions.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-20 Improper Input Validation, as the software failed to verify that user-supplied data met expected constraints before processing it within critical system components. The operational impact is severe, classified under Chromium security severity High, indicating that successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the browser process. In modern browsers like Chrome, processes are sandboxed to limit the damage an attacker can cause if they compromise a tab or plugin. However, by exploiting this GPU-related input validation error, an attacker can potentially break out of this isolation layer. This means that instead of being confined to reading cookies or stealing session data within a single domain context, the attacker gains the ability to execute native code on the victim's machine, effectively compromising the entire system integrity.
This type of vulnerability is frequently associated with ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, where attackers use vulnerabilities in client software to run malicious payloads without user interaction beyond visiting a webpage. The attack chain typically involves hosting a crafted HTML page on a server or embedding it via an iframe from another domain. When the victim visits this page, their browser parses the content and attempts to render graphical elements using hardware acceleration features. During this rendering process, the malformed input triggers the validation failure in the GPU module, leading to memory corruption such as buffer overflow or use-after-free conditions. These low-level memory errors are then leveraged to overwrite control flow data, allowing the attacker to redirect execution to shellcode injected into the browser's address space.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate software updates. Users and administrators must upgrade Google Chrome to version 156.0.8078.47 or later, where these input validation checks have been strengthened within the GPU subsystem. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict content security policies that restrict inline scripts and untrusted resources from loading into browser contexts. Additionally, enabling hardware-based memory protection features such as DEP (Data Execution Prevention) and ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) can mitigate the impact of exploitation attempts by making it harder for attackers to reliably execute injected code or predict memory addresses. Regular security audits focusing on third-party libraries and graphics rendering engines used in web applications are also recommended to prevent similar input validation flaws from being introduced into production environments.