CVE-2026-19140 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/07/2026
Use after free in GPU in Google Chrome prior to 151.0.7922.109 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 • 08/07/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in the graphics processing unit component of Google Chrome, specifically affecting versions prior to 151.0.7922.109. The flaw occurs within the GPU process handling mechanisms where improper memory management allows for potential exploitation by attackers who have already compromised the renderer process. The vulnerability is classified as high severity by Chromium security standards due to its potential to enable sandbox escape attacks, which would fundamentally undermine Chrome's security model that relies on process isolation and privilege separation.
The technical implementation of this use-after-free flaw involves scenarios where GPU memory allocations are freed while still being referenced by active processes or threads. When an attacker successfully compromises the renderer process through initial exploitation vectors such as cross-site scripting or other browser vulnerabilities, they can leverage this memory management error to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The GPU subsystem in Chrome operates under a separate sandboxed process to isolate graphics operations from the main browser process, but this vulnerability creates a pathway for malicious code to break out of that isolation boundary.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it represents a complete breakdown in Chrome's security architecture. Once an attacker achieves a sandbox escape through this use-after-free condition, they gain access to system resources that should remain isolated within the browser's sandbox environment. This could enable access to sensitive user data, file system operations, or even network communications that are normally restricted. The vulnerability's exploitation requires initial compromise of the renderer process, making it a post-exploitation vector rather than an initial attack surface, but it significantly amplifies the damage potential of existing breaches.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK framework techniques including privilege escalation and sandbox evasion, specifically mapping to T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) and T1548.002 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism). The CWE classification for this type of vulnerability would be CWE-416, which addresses use-after-free conditions in memory management. Organizations should immediately update to Chrome versions 151.0.7922.109 or later where this vulnerability has been patched, and implement additional monitoring for suspicious GPU process behavior. Network security teams should also consider implementing browser-based security controls that can detect anomalous patterns in renderer-to-GPU communications that might indicate exploitation attempts. The patch addresses the underlying memory management issue by ensuring proper reference counting and validation before memory deallocation, thereby preventing the conditions that allowed for the use-after-free scenario to occur.