Description

Buffer overflow in WebGL 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: High)

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.6",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-25T21:17:50.743Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-25T21:17:50.743Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical security vulnerability identified as a buffer overflow exists within the WebGL implementation of Google Chrome. This flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code outside the browser's sandbox environment.\nThe vulnerability affects versions of Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65. By utilizing a specially crafted HTML page, an attacker can trigger memory corruption within the WebGL component. The Chromium project has categorized this vulnerability with a 'High' severity rating, reflecting the potential for significant security breaches, including system compromise, data exfiltration, or the installation of malicious software.\nExploitation requires minimal user interaction, as the attack vector is initiated through the browser when a user navigates to a malicious webpage. Because the vulnerability facilitates a sandbox escape, it poses a severe risk to the integrity and confidentiality of the host operating system, effectively bypassing the browser's primary security isolation boundary.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from an improper bounds checking mechanism within the WebGL rendering engine. WebGL, which provides an API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within compatible web browsers without the use of plug-ins, utilizes complex memory management routines to handle graphical buffers and shader data. The identified buffer overflow occurs when the engine fails to adequately validate the size of input data processed during graphics primitive rendering or shader compilation.\nThe attack flow commences when a target user navigates to an HTML page hosting a malicious WebGL context. The attacker supplies a malformed buffer or an excessively large payload designed to exceed the allocated memory region on the heap or stack. When the WebGL component attempts to process this data, it overflows the designated buffer, overwriting adjacent memory locations.\nBecause the WebGL subsystem operates in close proximity to sensitive memory structures, the corruption of return addresses, function pointers, or objects within the process heap allows the attacker to hijack the control flow of the application. The escalation from a browser-level process to arbitrary code execution outside the sandbox implies that the exploit successfully interacts with or bypasses the OS-level sandboxing primitives, such as the Chromium renderer process isolation mechanisms.\nThe technical impact is the achievement of arbitrary code execution (ACE) with the privileges of the browser process, or potentially higher, depending on the success of the escape mechanism. The lack of proper sanitization of inputs within the WebGL pipeline allows an attacker to bypass the browser's core security boundary, rendering standard web protections ineffective. The vulnerability does not require authentication; it is accessible over a network by simply hosting a malicious web resource that interacts with the browser's WebGL implementation.\nAffected versions include all Google Chrome releases prior to 152.0.7977.65. Post-exploitation, an attacker can deploy secondary payloads, maintain persistence, or facilitate lateral movement within the compromised host machine, as the browser is no longer functioning within its restricted security container."
}