CVE-2026-119267 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 10/30/2026
Memory corruption in DOM in Google Chrome prior to 156.0.8078.79 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 • 10/30/2026
The vulnerability described involves a critical memory corruption flaw within the Document Object Model implementation of Google Chrome, specifically affecting versions prior to 156.0.8078.79. This type of defect typically arises from improper handling of memory allocation or deallocation during the parsing and rendering of HTML content. When a browser processes web pages, it constructs an internal representation known as the DOM tree. If this process fails to correctly manage pointers or buffer boundaries, it can lead to conditions such as use-after-free, heap overflow, or integer overflows. In this specific instance, the flaw allows for memory corruption that compromises the integrity of the sandbox environment designed to isolate untrusted web content from the host operating system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote code execution. An attacker can craft a malicious HTML page containing specially constructed elements or scripts that trigger the underlying memory error when rendered by the browser. Upon visiting this crafted page, the victim's Chrome instance processes the malformed input, leading to the corruption of critical data structures in memory. This corruption can be exploited to overwrite function pointers or return addresses within the process space, thereby redirecting execution flow to attacker-controlled shellcode. Because modern browsers employ sandboxing techniques to limit the privileges of renderer processes, successfully exploiting this flaw requires bypassing these security controls to achieve arbitrary code execution with higher privileges than typically granted to web content.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input and potentially CWE-416 Use After Free, depending on the specific mechanism exploited within the DOM engine. These categories highlight fundamental errors in input validation and memory management that are common targets for exploitation in complex software systems like web browsers. The ability to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox represents a significant escalation of privilege relative to the initial attack vector, which is limited to remote interaction via a webpage. This aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to client-side execution and potential defense evasion if the exploit allows for stealthy persistence or further lateral movement within the compromised system context.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve immediate software updates. Administrators and users must upgrade Google Chrome to version 156.0.8078.79 or later, where these memory management issues have been addressed through code hardening and improved bounds checking in the DOM parser. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, network-level controls such as web filtering proxies can be configured to block access to known malicious domains hosting exploit kits. Additionally, enabling strict content security policies and disabling JavaScript execution for untrusted sites can reduce the attack surface by preventing the rendering of potentially dangerous HTML structures that trigger the vulnerability. Regular monitoring of browser update notifications is essential to maintain a secure posture against such high-severity remote exploitation attempts.