CVE-2026-113215 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2026
Use after free in Extensions in Google Chrome prior to 156.0.8078.47 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as a use-after-free condition within the Extensions component of Google Chrome prior to version 156.0.8078.47 represents a critical memory management error that can be exploited by remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution. This flaw stems from improper handling of object lifecycles, specifically where a pointer to an already freed memory block is accessed or dereferenced after the associated resource has been deallocated. In the context of browser extensions, which often possess elevated privileges compared to standard web pages, such a vulnerability poses a significant risk because it can allow malicious actors to bypass security boundaries and execute code within the restricted sandbox environment that typically isolates untrusted content from system resources.
From a technical perspective, use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when software continues to use a pointer after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior. In Chromium-based browsers, this often manifests during the complex interaction between JavaScript engines, extension APIs, and native code components. An attacker can craft a specific HTML page that triggers the premature deallocation of an object while retaining references to it elsewhere in the application state. When these stale pointers are subsequently accessed, they may point to memory locations containing attacker-controlled data or allow for heap corruption techniques such as arbitrary read/write primitives. These primitives serve as foundational building blocks for more advanced exploitation chains, ultimately enabling the execution of arbitrary commands on the victim's machine under the context of the browser process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote code execution via a simple web interaction. A user visiting a maliciously crafted website could trigger the exploit without any additional action required from them, such as clicking specific buttons or downloading files. Although Chromium classifies this security severity as Low, likely based on the difficulty of exploitation or the effectiveness of existing mitigations like heap sanitizers and sandboxing, the underlying risk remains high if an attacker successfully leverages the flaw to escape the browser's isolation mechanisms. Successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise, data exfiltration, installation of persistent malware, or further lateral movement within a network environment where the compromised machine resides.
To mitigate this vulnerability, users must ensure that Google Chrome is updated to version 156.0.8078.47 or later immediately upon availability. This update contains patches that correct the memory management logic within the Extensions component, preventing the use of freed pointers and ensuring proper lifecycle management for extension-related objects. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict policies regarding browser extensions, limiting installation to approved sources only, as this reduces the attack surface by minimizing exposure to potentially malicious or poorly coded third-party add-ons. Regular security awareness training for end-users is also recommended to help them recognize and avoid suspicious web content that might attempt to exploit such vulnerabilities through social engineering tactics combined with technical exploitation techniques.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifier CWE-416, which describes use after free errors where a pointer references memory it should not reference because the memory was previously freed. In terms of offensive security frameworks, this flaw facilitates behaviors associated with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1203, specifically exploitation for client execution, and potentially T1059 if the executed code involves scripting languages like JavaScript or PowerShell to achieve further objectives within the compromised environment. The remediation strategy focuses on patch management as the primary control, supplemented by application whitelisting and sandboxing enhancements to limit the blast radius of any successful exploit attempts that might evade detection in future iterations of similar flaws.