CVE-2026-76044 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2026
Race condition in USB in Google Chrome prior to 151.0.7922.169 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-8356 represents a critical race condition within the USB subsystem of Google Chrome, specifically affecting versions prior to 151.0.7922.169. This flaw resides in the complex interaction between the browser's renderer process and the underlying operating system interfaces that manage Universal Serial Bus devices. The core technical issue stems from a timing discrepancy where multiple threads or processes access shared resources without proper synchronization mechanisms, creating a window of opportunity for an attacker to manipulate state before checks are completed. In modern web browsers like Chrome, security is heavily reliant on sandboxing, which isolates the renderer process to limit the damage if malicious code executes within it. However, this race condition allows an adversary who has already achieved execution within the compromised renderer environment to bypass these isolation boundaries by exploiting the asynchronous nature of USB device enumeration and access requests.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability leverages the inherent complexity of handling hardware interfaces in a multi-threaded browser architecture. When a web page interacts with USB devices through standard APIs such as WebUSB or HID, the browser must coordinate between JavaScript execution contexts and native code handlers. The race condition likely involves a use-after-free scenario or a check-then-act flaw where an attacker can trigger specific operations that modify internal data structures in memory while they are still being validated for security constraints. By carefully crafting timing attacks through repeated requests or manipulating the state of USB device connections, an attacker can cause the browser to perform actions on behalf of untrusted code with elevated privileges. This effectively breaks the sandbox boundary, allowing arbitrary code execution outside the restricted renderer environment and granting the attacker control over the host system's resources as if they were running within a trusted context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote exploitation via crafted HTML pages. An attacker does not need physical access to the victim's machine but rather needs to lure them into visiting a malicious website that contains specially constructed scripts designed to trigger the race condition. Once triggered, the ability to execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox means the attacker can install malware, exfiltrate sensitive data such as passwords and cookies stored in browser profiles, or use the compromised system as part of a botnet. The severity is rated high by Chromium security standards because it undermines one of the most fundamental defense-in-depth strategies employed by modern browsers: process isolation. Successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise depending on the privileges under which the browser was launched and the specific actions performed with the elevated access gained through this flaw.
Mitigation for this vulnerability primarily involves updating Google Chrome to version 151.0.7922.169 or later, where these synchronization issues have been addressed by developers implementing stricter locking mechanisms and improving state validation during USB device interactions. For organizations unable to immediately patch all endpoints, network-level controls such as web filtering proxies can be configured to block access to known malicious domains hosting exploit kits that target this specific browser flaw. Additionally, enforcing strict Content Security Policies (CSP) on internal websites can reduce the attack surface by limiting which scripts are allowed to execute and interact with hardware APIs. Monitoring for unusual USB device enumeration patterns or unexpected privilege escalation events in endpoint detection and response systems may also help identify attempts to exploit this race condition before full compromise occurs.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) category CWE-362, which describes concurrent execution access with unintended shared state, a classic example of a time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) flaw in software engineering. In the context of cyber offense tactics, this exploitation path corresponds to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059, Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically when used for lateral movement or privilege escalation within a compromised environment. The ability to escape the sandbox is particularly dangerous as it facilitates persistence mechanisms that are harder to detect by standard endpoint security tools designed to monitor only user-space applications rather than kernel-level or browser-internal state manipulations. Understanding this vulnerability highlights the ongoing challenge of maintaining robust isolation boundaries in complex software ecosystems where hardware integration introduces significant attack surface area for race conditions and memory corruption exploits.