Description

Use after free in TabStrip in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.75 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via UI Interaction. (Chromium security severity: Low)

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-02T00:18:28.873Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-02T00:18:28.873Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability is a Use-After-Free (UAF) memory corruption flaw identified within the TabStrip component of Google Chrome.\nThe vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code outside the established security sandbox by leveraging UI-based social engineering techniques.\nThe flaw affects Google Chrome versions prior to 152.0.7977.75.\nThe risk implication is critical, as a successful exploit bypasses the browser's sandbox containment, potentially granting the attacker system-level access or the ability to compromise the underlying operating system.\nExploitation requires the attacker to successfully deploy social engineering tactics to manipulate user interaction with the UI, making the attack surface contingent on the victim's engagement with a malicious UI event.\nDespite the Chromium security severity being classified as Low, the ability to escape the sandbox elevates the impact significantly for targeted users.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the TabStrip component, which manages the visual representation and state tracking of browser tabs within the Chromium engine.\nA Use-After-Free condition occurs when the application fails to properly manage the lifecycle of an object related to the UI rendering state. Specifically, an object is deallocated or freed, but a dangling pointer remains active in the code.\nIf the attacker can trigger a specific UI interaction sequence, the application may attempt to reference this freed memory address. By carefully orchestrating heap grooming or memory allocation patterns prior to the UAF, an attacker can replace the freed object with malicious data or a crafted object containing a virtual method table (vtable) pointer.\nWhen the TabStrip code subsequently attempts to access the stale pointer, it is diverted to the attacker-controlled memory. This redirection allows for arbitrary code execution within the process context.\nThe exploitation flow involves: 1) The attacker initiates a social engineering campaign to entice the user into a specific interaction flow within the browser UI. 2) This interaction triggers the lifecycle mismanagement of a TabStrip-related object, causing the UAF. 3) The attacker performs heap spraying or memory manipulation to control the contents of the freed memory. 4) The application uses the dangling pointer, triggering an execution flow transition to the attacker's shellcode or a ROP (Return-Oriented Programming) chain.\nBecause the vulnerability allows for execution outside the sandbox, the attacker can move from the restricted renderer process to higher-privilege system memory spaces. This sandbox escape bypasses the primary defensive layer of the browser, enabling persistence or deeper system compromise.\nThe vulnerability is limited by the requirement of user interaction, making it less effective for automated, zero-click propagation, but highly dangerous in the context of targeted browser exploitation campaigns."
}