CVE-2026-79020 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/26/2026
Out of bounds read in Skia in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker to potentially read memory inside the sandbox via a crafted media file. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2026
The vulnerability identified as an out-of-bounds read within the Skia graphics library, which serves as the core 2D graphics engine for Google Chrome prior to version 152.0.7977.65, represents a significant memory safety flaw with potential implications for sandbox integrity. This issue arises when the browser processes specially crafted media files that trigger incorrect boundary checks during rendering operations. The Skia library is responsible for handling complex graphical computations, including image decoding and vector graphics processing, making it a frequent target for exploitation attempts aimed at bypassing security boundaries through memory corruption or information disclosure techniques.
From a technical perspective, an out-of-bounds read occurs when the application accesses memory locations that lie outside the intended buffer boundaries without proper validation of array indices or pointer arithmetic results. In this specific instance, the flaw allows a remote attacker to cause Chrome to read data from adjacent memory regions that should remain inaccessible due to sandboxing restrictions. This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-125, which denotes Out-of-bounds Read, and often falls within the scope of CWE-787 if it leads to further exploitation vectors such as arbitrary code execution via subsequent writes or control flow hijacking. The severity is rated as medium by Chromium security standards because while direct remote code execution may not be guaranteed in all scenarios, the ability to leak sensitive memory contents can facilitate more advanced attacks like cross-site scripting persistence or credential theft through side-channel analysis.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers on the potential for unauthorized information disclosure and the erosion of the browser's sandbox model. Modern browsers rely heavily on process isolation and sandboxing to limit the damage caused by compromised web content. By exploiting an out-of-bounds read, an attacker could potentially exfiltrate sensitive data residing in memory spaces associated with other processes or privileged components within the same user session. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1005, which describes Data from Local System, and specifically relates to sub-techniques involving direct access to local files or memory dumps if combined with other vulnerabilities. Although the immediate risk is information leakage rather than full system compromise, such leaks can provide attackers with valuable context for crafting more sophisticated multi-stage attacks against enterprise environments where sensitive data resides in browser memory buffers.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve updating Google Chrome to version 152.0.7977.65 or later, which includes patches that enforce stricter bounds checking within the Skia rendering pipeline. Organizations should ensure automated update mechanisms are enabled for all endpoints running affected versions of Chromium-based browsers. Additionally, security teams can implement network-level controls such as web application firewalls to detect and block requests containing malformed media files known to trigger this specific parsing error. For high-security environments, deploying content security policies that restrict the loading of external resources or disabling unnecessary browser features like automatic media playback can reduce the attack surface available to remote adversaries attempting to exploit this flaw through maliciously crafted websites or embedded media elements.