CVE-2026-79200 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 08/26/2026
Use after free in Aura in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Critical)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2026
The vulnerability identified as a use-after-free flaw within the Aura component of Google Chrome prior to version 152.0.7977.65 represents a critical memory management error that compromises the integrity and confidentiality of user data by allowing remote code execution outside the browser's sandbox environment. Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when an application continues to use a pointer after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior that can be exploited by attackers to manipulate program flow or access sensitive memory regions. In this specific instance, the Aura framework, which is responsible for handling window management and input events in Chromium-based browsers, failed to properly manage the lifecycle of certain objects during rendering or event processing operations. This oversight resulted in a dangling pointer being retained within the application's state, creating an exploitable condition where maliciously crafted content could trigger access to freed memory.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote code execution via a simple HTML page interaction. An attacker can host or distribute a specially constructed web page that triggers the flawed memory handling logic within Aura when rendered by the victim's browser. By carefully crafting the payload, an adversary can overwrite freed memory with controlled data, effectively gaining arbitrary read and write primitives. This capability allows for the bypass of Chrome’s sandboxing mechanisms, which are designed to isolate untrusted content from the rest of the system. Once outside the sandbox, the attacker gains elevated privileges equivalent to those of the current user, enabling them to install malware, steal credentials, exfiltrate sensitive documents, or pivot further into internal networks depending on the victim's access level and security posture.
From a classification perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-416, Use After Free, which describes situations where software uses memory after it has been freed, often leading to crashes, data corruption, or code execution. The exploitation technique leverages ATT&CK Tactic TA0002 Execution and specifically relates to techniques involving browser-based attacks such as client-side scripting (T1059) and potentially drive-by compromise mechanisms where no user interaction beyond visiting a webpage is required. The critical severity rating assigned by the Chromium security team reflects the ease of exploitation and the high impact on system confidentiality, integrity, and availability when an attacker successfully achieves out-of-sandbox execution through this memory corruption flaw.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve immediate patching to ensure that all instances of Google Chrome are updated to version 152.0.7977.65 or later, where the underlying memory management issues in Aura have been resolved. Organizations should enforce automated update policies for browser deployments across their endpoints to minimize exposure windows. Additionally, users can employ defense-in-depth measures such as enabling site isolation features within Chrome, which further restricts how different origins interact with each other and reduce the blast radius of any potential sandbox escape attempts. Security teams should also monitor network traffic for indicators of compromise associated with known exploit kits targeting browser vulnerabilities and ensure that endpoint detection and response solutions are updated to detect patterns consistent with memory corruption exploitation techniques.