CVE-2025-0995: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-0995 Overview

CVE-2025-0995 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine used by Google Chrome. The flaw affects Chrome versions prior to 133.0.6943.98 and allows a remote attacker to trigger heap corruption through a crafted HTML page. Google classified the Chromium security severity as High. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, such as visiting a malicious web page. The vulnerability is tracked under [CWE-416: Use After Free] and was patched in the Chrome Stable Channel update released on February 12, 2025.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can corrupt heap memory in the V8 engine and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution within the Chrome renderer process when a user opens a crafted HTML page.

Affected Products

Google Chrome versions prior to 133.0.6943.98 on Desktop
Chromium-based browsers consuming the affected V8 engine build
Embedded applications using the vulnerable V8 component

Discovery Timeline

2025-02-15 - CVE-2025-0995 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2025-04-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-0995

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a use-after-free condition in V8, the open-source JavaScript and WebAssembly engine that powers Chrome. Use-after-free bugs occur when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, allowing an attacker to manipulate the freed region and influence program behavior.

In V8, such flaws typically arise during JavaScript object lifetime management, garbage collection, or just-in-time (JIT) compiler optimizations. An attacker who triggers the freed object reference can place attacker-controlled data into the reclaimed memory and corrupt internal V8 structures. This corruption can be leveraged to bypass memory safety boundaries within the renderer sandbox.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime tracking within V8 [CWE-416]. A reference to a V8 heap object persists after the object has been deallocated. When the dangling reference is later dereferenced, V8 operates on freed memory that an attacker can reshape using JavaScript primitives. Full technical details are restricted in the Chromium issue tracker until a majority of users have updated.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network and requires user interaction. The victim must load a crafted HTML page that delivers JavaScript designed to manipulate V8 object allocation patterns and trigger the freed reference. Once heap corruption is achieved, an attacker can pursue renderer process code execution, which historically chains with sandbox escapes for broader system compromise.

The vulnerability is described in prose only; no public proof-of-concept is available. See the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry and the Google Chrome Update Announcement for vendor information.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-0995

Indicators of Compromise

Chrome renderer process crashes with heap corruption signatures shortly after loading untrusted web content
Unexpected child processes spawned by chrome.exe following navigation to unknown domains
Browser telemetry showing V8 exception traces or SIGSEGV events on JavaScript-heavy pages

Detection Strategies

Inventory Chrome installations across endpoints and flag versions below 133.0.6943.98
Monitor endpoint logs for Chrome renderer crash reports correlated with outbound traffic to recently observed domains
Apply web proxy and DNS filtering policies to identify users visiting URLs flagged by threat intelligence as exploit hosts

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable enterprise Chrome reporting through the Chrome Enterprise Connectors framework to centralize version and crash telemetry
Track process lineage from browser processes to detect post-exploitation activity such as unexpected cmd.exe or powershell.exe execution
Correlate browser crash events with network egress to surface drive-by exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-0995

Immediate Actions Required

Update Google Chrome to version 133.0.6943.98 or later on all Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints
Restart Chrome after the update so the patched V8 binary is loaded into memory
Verify Chromium-based browsers and embedded WebView components have absorbed the upstream V8 fix

Patch Information

Google released the fix in the Chrome Stable Channel update 133.0.6943.98 for Windows, macOS, and Linux on February 12, 2025. Administrators should consult the Google Chrome Update Announcement for full release notes. Chromium-based browsers including Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi require their respective vendor updates that incorporate the upstream V8 patch.

Workarounds

Disable JavaScript for untrusted sites using Chrome content settings or enterprise policy DefaultJavaScriptSetting
Restrict browsing on high-value endpoints to an allowlist of trusted domains until patching completes
Use site isolation and enable strict sandbox flags to limit the blast radius of renderer compromise

bash

# Configuration example: enforce minimum Chrome version via enterprise policy
# Windows registry path for Chrome Enterprise policies
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
  TargetVersionPrefix = "133.0.6943.98"
  DefaultJavaScriptSetting = 2   # Block JavaScript by default
  JavaScriptAllowedForUrls    = ["https://trusted.example.com"]