CVE-2026-17979 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 07/30/2026
Race in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 151.0.7922.72 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2026
This vulnerability represents a race condition flaw within the V8 JavaScript engine used in Google Chrome versions prior to 151.0.7922.72, constituting a critical security weakness that could be exploited remotely to bypass sandbox protections. The issue stems from improper synchronization mechanisms during concurrent execution contexts, allowing malicious code to manipulate memory states before proper validation occurs. The race condition manifests when multiple threads or processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously without adequate locking mechanisms, creating temporal windows where inconsistent states can be exploited.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the V8 engine's garbage collection and memory management subsystems where concurrent operations can lead to unpredictable behavior when objects are being created, modified, or destroyed. Attackers can craft malicious HTML pages that trigger specific execution paths within the JavaScript engine, exploiting the timing dependencies between different memory allocation routines. This allows for arbitrary code execution within the sandboxed environment, effectively bypassing Chrome's security model designed to isolate web content from the underlying system. The vulnerability specifically targets the interaction between JavaScript object lifecycle management and the underlying memory allocator, creating opportunities for memory corruption that can be leveraged for privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables remote code execution without requiring user interaction beyond visiting a malicious webpage. Attackers can exploit this flaw to install malware, steal sensitive data, or perform other malicious activities while remaining undetected within the browser environment. The low severity classification by Chromium security team belies the actual risk level, as sandbox bypass vulnerabilities typically represent high-impact threats that can be weaponized across various attack vectors including phishing campaigns and drive-by downloads. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-367 weakness category related to time-of-check to time-of-use flaws and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for JavaScript execution within browser environments.
Mitigation strategies include immediate upgrading to Chrome version 151.0.7922.72 or later where the race condition has been patched through improved synchronization mechanisms and memory management controls. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as content filtering solutions that can block known malicious domains and employ web application firewalls to detect suspicious JavaScript patterns. Browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary JavaScript features, implementing strict CSP policies, and maintaining regular security updates form essential defensive layers. Additionally, security awareness training for users to recognize potential phishing attempts and avoid visiting untrusted websites reduces the attack surface significantly. The patch addresses the underlying synchronization issues by implementing proper mutex locks and atomic operations during object lifecycle management, ensuring that concurrent access to shared resources maintains consistency throughout the execution flow.