Description

Improper privilege management in Navigation in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process and leveraged social engineering to potentially execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.3",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-25T21:17:55.530Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-25T21:17:55.530Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves improper privilege management within the Navigation component of Google Chrome. The flaw resides in the renderer process, where an attacker can exploit the lack of sufficient privilege boundaries to achieve arbitrary code execution outside the browser's sandbox. The vulnerability is classified as Medium severity, primarily due to the prerequisite of a prior renderer process compromise and the necessity of social engineering to initiate the attack sequence. Successful exploitation allows a remote attacker to escape the restricted renderer sandbox, potentially leading to unauthorized system-level operations or full system compromise, depending on the attacker's post-exploitation capabilities. Affected systems include all Google Chrome versions prior to 152.0.7977.65. Given that this exploit requires chaining multiple techniques—including process compromise and user interaction—it represents a significant risk in targeted threat scenarios where an attacker seeks to elevate privileges from the web content layer to the host environment.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from improper privilege management within the Navigation architecture of Google Chrome. In the Chromium security model, the renderer process is intended to operate within a highly constrained sandbox, restricting access to system resources and sensitive APIs. This vulnerability occurs when the Navigation component fails to enforce strict security boundaries, allowing a compromised renderer to influence or manipulate navigation states in a way that violates the Principle of Least Privilege.\nThe attack flow typically begins with an attacker successfully compromising the renderer process, potentially through a separate memory corruption vulnerability. Once the renderer is controlled, the attacker utilizes a crafted HTML page to trigger the flawed navigation logic. Because the Navigation component does not adequately validate the origin or security context of the navigation request during this specific state transition, the renderer can facilitate an escape mechanism.\nThe process involves the following technical steps: First, the attacker lures a user to a malicious webpage via social engineering, establishing the initial renderer context. Second, the attacker leverages the renderer compromise to inject malformed navigation parameters that the browser incorrectly treats as privileged. Third, by exploiting the mismatch between the expected privilege level of the renderer and the actual operations performed by the Navigation component, the attacker manages to bypass sandbox protections. This effectively grants the renderer context the ability to execute arbitrary code outside the confinement of the sandboxed process.\nThe vulnerability specifically affects versions of Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65. The root cause is centered on the logic handling cross-process navigation and the verification of process-specific security tokens. By manipulating the state machine of the navigation flow, an attacker gains the ability to execute instructions that are normally reserved for higher-privileged browser processes. Post-exploitation, an attacker may be capable of persistent code execution on the host machine, bypassing the browser's kernel-level defenses and interacting directly with the underlying operating system. This escape effectively negates the security isolation provided by the Chromium sandbox, posing a severe threat to the integrity and confidentiality of the host environment."
}