CVE-2026-19142 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/07/2026
Use after free in Views in Google Chrome prior to 151.0.7922.109 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/07/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition within the Views framework of Google Chrome, specifically affecting versions prior to 151.0.7922.109. The flaw exists in how the browser handles memory management during UI component lifecycle operations, creating an exploitable scenario where remote attackers can manipulate heap corruption through carefully crafted HTML content. The vulnerability is classified as high severity by Chromium security standards due to its potential for remote code execution when users interact with malicious web pages.
The technical implementation involves a race condition or improper memory deallocation within the Views system that manages graphical user interface elements in Chrome's browser engine. When certain UI gestures are performed in conjunction with crafted HTML content, the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, leading to heap corruption. This memory management error allows attackers to potentially overwrite critical data structures or execute arbitrary code within the browser's sandboxed environment. The flaw specifically impacts the interaction between JavaScript execution and native UI component handling, creating a pathway for privilege escalation through memory corruption techniques.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to end users as it requires only a single user interaction with a malicious webpage to potentially compromise system integrity. Attackers can craft HTML pages that trigger specific UI behaviors, such as rapid element creation and destruction, followed by user gestures that exploit the freed memory pointers. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it operates entirely within the browser context without requiring additional privileges or local system access. Security researchers have identified this vulnerability through fuzzing and code analysis, with patterns matching common use-after-free exploitation techniques found in similar Chromium components.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions in memory management, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059 for execution through web-based scripting. Organizations should immediately deploy the patched Chrome version 151.0.7922.109 or later to mitigate this risk, as the fix implements proper memory lifecycle management and additional validation checks within the Views framework. Additional mitigations include implementing browser security policies such as sandboxing enforcement, content security policy restrictions, and user education regarding suspicious web content. Network-level protections like web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional defense-in-depth measures, though the primary solution remains timely patch deployment to address the underlying memory management flaw in Chrome's UI rendering components.
This vulnerability demonstrates the ongoing challenges in modern browser security where complex UI frameworks create numerous potential attack surfaces for memory corruption exploits. The complexity of maintaining proper object lifecycle management in GUI systems combined with JavaScript execution environments creates persistent vulnerabilities that require continuous monitoring and remediation efforts. Security teams should prioritize this patch across all affected Chrome installations while implementing comprehensive monitoring for exploitation attempts targeting similar memory corruption vulnerabilities in browser components.