Description

Type confusion in DevTools in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-25T21:18:16.857Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-25T21:18:16.857Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves a type confusion flaw within the Google Chrome DevTools component, identified as a security weakness that facilitates remote code execution.\nThe vulnerability allows a remote attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution within the restricted sandbox environment by leveraging social engineering tactics.\nThe scope of impact is limited to the browser's sandbox, but successful exploitation grants an attacker the ability to execute malicious instructions under the context of the DevTools process.\nAffected products include Google Chrome versions prior to 152.0.7977.65.\nExploitation is contingent upon user interaction, requiring the victim to navigate to a specifically crafted HTML page designed to trigger the underlying memory safety violation.\nThe security risk is categorized as Medium by the Chromium project, emphasizing the necessity of browser updates to mitigate potential exploitation pathways.\nThe vulnerability highlights a critical breakdown in object type validation within the DevTools interface, which attackers can exploit to manipulate memory states.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from a type confusion error located within the Google Chrome DevTools framework. Type confusion occurs when the software incorrectly identifies the type of an object or variable during runtime, leading the system to treat memory as an incorrect data structure.\nIn this specific instance, the DevTools component fails to rigorously validate object types during certain operations. By providing a specifically crafted HTML page, an attacker can influence the execution path of the DevTools engine, tricking it into misinterpreting a specific object reference.\nThe attack flow begins when a user is convinced, through social engineering, to navigate to a malicious HTML page. This page contains scripts or resources designed to interact with DevTools-specific functionalities in a way that triggers the type confusion condition.\nUpon successful triggering, the application logic assumes the memory associated with a misclassified object possesses a different structure or function pointer than it actually holds. This allows an attacker to manipulate the execution flow, effectively redirecting control flow to attacker-controlled memory segments.\nSince the execution occurs within the DevTools component, the impact is confined to the Google Chrome sandbox. While this isolation prevents the attacker from gaining immediate full-system access, it provides a pivot point for executing arbitrary code within the compromised renderer process.\nThe underlying issue resides within the internal data handling mechanisms of the DevTools infrastructure. By manipulating the internal state or the way DevTools parses specific object properties, an attacker can achieve a primitive that allows for code execution.\nExploitation requires no prior authentication, but it does rely on the victim performing a user-initiated action. The lack of robust type checks during object manipulation processes facilitates the exploitation of this memory safety vulnerability.\nPost-exploitation, the attacker may attempt to utilize the execution primitive to further compromise the renderer process, bypass site isolation protections, or gather sensitive information processed within the DevTools environment."
}