CVE-2026-16422 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/22/2026
Insufficient validation of untrusted input in Certificate in Google Chrome on Linux prior to 150.0.7871.182 allowed an attacker in a privileged network position to perform domain spoofing via malicious network traffic. (Chromium security severity: High)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in Google Chrome's certificate validation process on Linux systems, specifically affecting versions prior to 150.0.7871.182. The issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly scrutinize untrusted certificate data received through network communications. When an attacker occupies a privileged network position, they can manipulate certificate information in transit to create misleading SSL/TLS certificates that appear legitimate to the browser. This weakness falls under the broader category of certificate forgery and man-in-the-middle attack vectors that have been systematically catalogued by security frameworks including CWE-250.
The technical implementation flaw occurs within Chrome's certificate parsing and verification routines where the application does not sufficiently validate the integrity of certificate attributes received from remote servers. This includes insufficient checks on subject names, issuer information, and cryptographic signatures that would normally prevent domain spoofing attacks. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in Linux environments where Chrome relies on system-level certificate stores and validation mechanisms that may have additional attack surface areas compared to other platforms. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious network traffic that delivers certificates with domain names or other identifying attributes that match legitimate websites, enabling them to intercept communications between users and target services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple certificate validation failures to encompass complete trust model compromise within the browser's security architecture. When successful, attackers can establish fake secure connections that appear legitimate to users, potentially capturing sensitive information such as login credentials, personal data, or financial transactions without detection. This type of attack directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1041 by enabling network traffic interception and manipulation, while also supporting credential harvesting through deceptive certificate presentation. The high severity classification reflects the potential for widespread exploitation given that many users operate in environments where network traffic can be intercepted or manipulated, particularly in enterprise or public network scenarios.
Organizations should immediately update to Chrome version 150.0.7871.182 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for the underlying validation flaw. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring for suspicious certificate behavior and network traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The fix addresses the core validation logic by strengthening input sanitization routines and implementing more rigorous certificate attribute verification processes. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their certificate management practices, particularly focusing on the integrity of trust stores and the implementation of certificate pinning strategies where appropriate to provide additional defense-in-depth against similar vulnerabilities.