CVE-2026-79040 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/26/2026
Uninitialized resource in GPU in Google Chrome on on Android prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker to read memory outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2026
The vulnerability identified as an uninitialized resource issue within the GPU subsystem of Google Chrome on Android prior to version 152.0.7977.65 represents a critical failure in memory management and state initialization protocols. This flaw allows for the potential reading of arbitrary memory locations that reside outside the browser's sandboxed environment, thereby bypassing essential security boundaries designed to isolate web content from system resources. The severity is classified as Low by Chromium standards, yet the implications remain significant due to the nature of out-of-bounds reads which can lead to information disclosure or serve as a precursor for more complex exploitation chains involving code execution if combined with other vulnerabilities.
From a technical perspective, this issue stems from improper initialization of resources allocated within the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) command buffer or related data structures used by the browser's rendering engine. When specific GPU operations are triggered via JavaScript in a crafted HTML page, the application fails to properly initialize certain memory fields before they are accessed for reading purposes. This lack of initialization means that these memory locations may contain stale data from previous allocations or sensitive information left over from other processes. The attacker leverages this by crafting an HTML page that forces the browser to execute specific GPU commands, causing the uninitialized values to be read and potentially exfiltrated through side channels or direct memory access techniques supported by the underlying operating system APIs exposed via WebAssembly or WebGL interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers on information disclosure rather than immediate remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can read portions of the browser's process memory that are not supposed to be accessible from web content. This could include sensitive cookies, authentication tokens, internal application state, or even parts of other tabs if they share the same renderer process. While the sandbox provides a robust layer of defense against direct code execution, bypassing it through information leaks can facilitate further attacks such as session hijacking or privilege escalation within the browser context. The ability to read memory outside the sandbox undermines the fundamental security model of modern web browsers which rely on strict isolation between untrusted web content and trusted system resources.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-457, which describes the use of an uninitialized variable, a common source of bugs in systems programming languages like C++ used extensively in Chrome's core components. In terms of offensive security frameworks, this behavior is consistent with ATT&CK technique T1083, File and Directory Discovery, although adapted for memory space rather than file system access, as the attacker seeks to enumerate or extract specific data structures from process memory. The exploitation vector is classified as Remote (Network) via User Interaction, meaning that a victim must be persuaded to visit a malicious webpage hosted by an adversary.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve updating Google Chrome on Android devices to version 152.0.7977.65 or later where this issue has been resolved through improved initialization routines and stricter bounds checking within the GPU process. For organizations managing fleets of mobile devices, enforcing automatic updates is crucial to maintain security posture against such vulnerabilities. Additionally, developers should ensure that WebGL contexts are configured with appropriate sandboxing policies and that any custom shaders or extensions do not expose low-level memory access patterns without proper validation. Security teams should monitor for indicators of compromise related to unusual GPU command sequences or excessive memory allocation patterns in browser logs as potential signs of exploitation attempts targeting this class of vulnerabilities.