CVE-2026-17804 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/30/2026
Use after free in Media in Google Chrome prior to 151.0.7922.72 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition within the media processing components of Google Chrome that existed prior to version 151.0.7922.72. The flaw occurs when the browser's renderer process handles media content, specifically in how it manages memory allocation and deallocation for media-related objects. When a media object is freed from memory but references to it persist within the application's memory space, subsequent access attempts can lead to unpredictable behavior including potential code execution. This particular vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of use-after-free errors, which are among the most dangerous classes of memory corruption vulnerabilities due to their potential for exploitation.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend beyond typical memory corruption issues as it specifically targets the renderer process, which operates with reduced privileges compared to the main browser process. However, attackers who have already compromised the renderer process through other means can leverage this use-after-free condition to escalate their privileges and potentially escape the sandbox environment that normally isolates the renderer from the underlying operating system. The Chromium security severity rating of Medium reflects the complexity required to achieve exploitation, but also acknowledges that successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Chrome as their primary browser, particularly in environments where users may encounter untrusted content or where sandbox escape attacks are a concern. Attackers could craft malicious HTML pages containing specially constructed media elements that trigger the vulnerable code path when processed by the browser's renderer. Once triggered, the use-after-free condition allows for arbitrary code execution within the context of the compromised renderer process, potentially enabling further attack vectors such as privilege escalation or full system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching to the latest Chrome version where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper memory management controls and validation checks. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including web application firewalls, content filtering systems, and user education programs to reduce exposure to potentially malicious content. The remediation process must include thorough testing of patched environments to ensure no regressions occur while maintaining the security benefits of the update. This vulnerability underscores the importance of continuous security monitoring and proactive patch management in defending against sophisticated attacks targeting browser components that form critical attack surfaces for modern cybersecurity threats.