CVE-2026-15117 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/09/2026
Use after free in Payments in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.115 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in the payments functionality of google chrome versions prior to 150.0.7871.115. The flaw manifests within the browser's handling of payment-related operations and can be exploited through malicious html pages that manipulate user interface interactions. The vulnerability is classified as high severity by chromium security standards due to its potential for remote code execution and heap corruption. The technical implementation involves a scenario where memory allocated for payment processing operations becomes accessible after being freed, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate the program's memory layout.
The exploitation mechanism relies on convincing users to perform specific user interface gestures while interacting with a crafted html page. This approach leverages the browser's payment processing subsystem and takes advantage of improper memory management practices in the payments module. The vulnerability occurs when the browser fails to properly validate or handle references to freed memory objects during payment transaction processing, allowing attackers to inject malicious code into the heap memory space.
From an operational perspective this vulnerability presents significant risk to users who may inadvertently interact with compromised web pages containing malicious payment processing logic. The attack vector requires user interaction through specific UI gestures which makes exploitation somewhat more challenging than fully automated attacks but still represents a serious security concern given the potential for remote code execution and system compromise. The heap corruption aspect of this vulnerability can lead to unpredictable program behavior, data corruption, or complete system takeover depending on successful exploitation.
The technical flaw aligns with common software security weaknesses documented in cwe-416 which specifically addresses use-after-free vulnerabilities. This weakness category encompasses situations where software continues to reference memory after it has been freed by the system, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate program execution flow. The vulnerability also maps to attack techniques described in the mitre att&ck framework under initial access and execution phases, particularly when considering how attackers might leverage this flaw to establish persistent access or escalate privileges through heap-based attacks.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected chrome versions to 150.0.7871.115 or later releases which contain the necessary memory management fixes. Organizations should implement browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary payment processing features when not actively required, utilizing sandboxing mechanisms, and maintaining strict web content filtering policies. Additionally security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around memory allocation and deallocation activities within payment processing modules. Regular security updates and vulnerability assessments of browser components remain essential for protecting against similar future vulnerabilities in the payments subsystem.