CVE-2026-95333 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE • 09/29/2026
Use after free in Metrics in Google Chrome prior to 154.0.8037.57 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via crafted network traffic. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/29/2026
The vulnerability identified as a use-after-free condition within the metrics subsystem of Google Chrome prior to version 154.0.8037.57 represents a critical memory management error that compromises the integrity and confidentiality of user data while potentially allowing for remote code execution. This flaw arises from an improper handling of object lifecycles where memory allocated for specific metric tracking structures is freed, but subsequent operations continue to reference pointers to that now-deallocated memory region. In modern web browsers like Chrome, which rely heavily on sandboxing techniques such as process isolation and restricted permissions to mitigate the impact of exploits, this type of vulnerability poses a significant threat because it can potentially allow an attacker to bypass these security boundaries if the corrupted pointer is used in a way that leads to arbitrary write or read operations.
From a technical perspective, use-after-free vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they provide attackers with control over memory contents after deallocation. When the operating system reclaims the freed memory block and allocates it for another purpose, an attacker who can influence what data is written into that reclaimed space can manipulate the behavior of the application. In the context of Chrome's metrics module, which handles telemetry and usage statistics sent to Google servers, a crafted network traffic payload could trigger this state by causing premature deallocation while leaving dangling pointers active within the execution flow. This allows for potential heap corruption, which is often leveraged in exploit chains to achieve arbitrary code execution with high privileges or outside the restrictive sandbox environment designed to contain browser-based attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data leakage. While metrics are generally considered non-critical user data, the ability to execute arbitrary code via crafted network traffic means that a remote attacker does not need any prior access to the victim's machine or social engineering success such as phishing clicks on malicious links in many scenarios if the browser is configured to automatically process certain types of content. The severity rating of Medium from Chromium reflects the complexity required to reliably exploit this flaw and the mitigating factors present in Chrome’s architecture, yet it remains a serious risk because successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise depending on how the sandbox was bypassed during the attack chain.
Industry standards classify such memory corruption issues under CWE-416, Use After Free, which highlights the failure to properly manage pointer validity after resource release. Furthermore, in terms of tactical mapping within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with techniques related to Initial Access and Execution, specifically those involving crafted network traffic or malicious content delivery that triggers client-side code execution without user interaction beyond visiting a compromised site or receiving specific data streams. The exploitation vector being remote via network traffic places it firmly in the category of attacks that can be launched from anywhere on the internet against vulnerable instances.
To mitigate this risk, organizations and individual users must ensure that Google Chrome is updated to version 154.0.8037.57 or later immediately upon availability. Patching addresses the underlying memory management logic errors within the metrics subsystem, ensuring that pointers are nullified after deallocation and that access checks prevent interaction with freed memory regions. Additionally, maintaining up-to-date endpoint protection solutions can help detect anomalous behavior resulting from exploitation attempts, such as unusual process spawning or network connections originating from browser processes attempting to communicate outside expected channels. Regular security audits of third-party extensions should also be conducted, as they may interact with similar subsystems and introduce additional attack surfaces if not properly secured against memory corruption flaws.