CVE-2026-113014 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2026
Use after free in PerformanceAPIs in Google Chrome prior to 156.0.8078.47 allowed a remote attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as a use-after-free flaw within the PerformanceAPIs component of Google Chrome prior to version 156.0.8078.47 represents a critical memory management error that undermines the browser's sandboxing mechanisms. This specific class of vulnerabilities arises when software continues to reference a pointer after its associated memory has been freed and potentially reallocated for other purposes. In the context of web browsers, such flaws are particularly dangerous because they can allow an attacker who controls the input data or crafts malicious content to manipulate how the browser handles internal objects in memory. The PerformanceAPIs module is responsible for collecting timing information about various performance metrics on a webpage, and improper handling of these resources during their lifecycle management creates a window where stale pointers remain valid but point to freed memory regions that may contain attacker-controlled data.
From a technical perspective, this flaw allows a remote attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution outside the browser's sandbox by crafting a specific HTML page designed to trigger the race condition or improper state transition within the PerformanceAPIs logic. When the vulnerable function accesses the deallocated memory, it reads or writes data based on assumptions that are no longer valid due to prior cleanup operations. If an attacker can control what is written into that freed memory region before it is reallocated and accessed again, they can overwrite critical pointers such as virtual table pointers in C++ objects or return addresses on the stack. This manipulation enables the execution of arbitrary machine code with the privileges of the browser process, effectively breaking out of the restrictive sandbox environment designed to isolate web content from the underlying operating system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote exploitation without user interaction beyond visiting a maliciously crafted website. Attackers can distribute such pages via phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or drive-by download techniques. Successful exploitation grants full control over the browser process, which often runs with elevated privileges relative to standard web content restrictions. This access allows the attacker to read sensitive data stored in memory, inject malware into active sessions, bypass security controls like same-origin policy, and potentially pivot to attack other systems on the network if additional vulnerabilities are present. The medium severity rating assigned by Chromium reflects the complexity of exploitation but acknowledges the high impact once successful code execution is achieved within a privileged context.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying the vendor-supplied patch that updates Google Chrome to version 156.0.8078.47 or later, which corrects the memory management logic in PerformanceAPIs to ensure pointers are nullified after deallocation and prevents access to freed memory. Organizations should enforce automated update policies for all endpoints running this browser to minimize exposure windows. Additionally, deploying advanced endpoint detection and response solutions that monitor for anomalous process behavior can help detect exploitation attempts in real time. Security teams should also consider implementing strict content security policies on internal web applications to reduce the attack surface presented by user-generated or third-party content.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-416, which describes use after free errors where a pointer is used after its memory has been freed. It also maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1203, specifically the exploitation of vulnerabilities for code execution, and potentially relates to sandbox escape techniques if the attacker leverages this initial foothold to break out of the browser container. Understanding these mappings helps in categorizing the risk within broader threat intelligence frameworks and ensures that remediation efforts address both the immediate technical flaw and the strategic security implications of losing process isolation boundaries.