CVE-2026-15120 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/09/2026
Use after free in Core in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 150.0.7871.115 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in the core rendering engine of Google Chrome on Windows systems, specifically affecting versions prior to 150.0.7871.115. The flaw occurs within the browser's architecture where memory management fails to properly track object lifecycles, creating opportunities for malicious code execution. When a renderer process is compromised, an attacker can exploit this vulnerability to escape the sandbox environment that typically isolates browser processes from the underlying operating system. The technical implementation involves a scenario where an object reference remains valid in memory even after the object has been freed, allowing subsequent operations to access or modify previously deallocated memory regions. This memory corruption can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, effectively bypassing the security boundaries that Chrome employs to protect users from malicious web content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond typical browser exploitation scenarios, as it enables attackers to perform privilege escalation attacks that could compromise entire user systems. The Chromium security severity classification of High reflects the dangerous nature of this flaw, which requires immediate attention from system administrators and security teams. Attackers can craft malicious HTML pages that trigger the vulnerable code path during normal browsing operations, making this a particularly insidious threat vector. The vulnerability demonstrates weaknesses in memory management practices within Chrome's core components, specifically related to how JavaScript objects and DOM elements are handled during garbage collection cycles. This issue aligns with CWE-416, which describes use-after-free vulnerabilities that occur when code continues to reference memory after it has been freed.
The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that it occurs within the renderer process, which already has access to user data and browser functionality. Once an attacker gains control of this process through other means such as phishing or drive-by downloads, they can leverage the use-after-free condition to escalate privileges and potentially gain system-level access. The sandbox escape capability represents a fundamental breach in Chrome's security model, where the isolation mechanisms designed to contain malicious code prove insufficient against well-crafted attacks. This vulnerability would typically be categorized under the ATT&CK technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could use the escaped privileges to execute additional payloads or establish persistence within the compromised system.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to prevent exploitation attempts. The mitigation strategy involves updating to Chrome version 150.0.7871.115 or later, which includes memory management fixes that prevent the use-after-free condition from occurring. Security teams should also implement network-based protections such as content filtering and web application firewalls to detect and block malicious HTML content that could trigger this vulnerability. Additionally, browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary JavaScript features and implementing strict content security policies can reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability underscores the importance of regular security updates and proper memory management practices in browser development, as these flaws represent some of the most dangerous security issues that can affect user systems through web-based attacks.