CVE-2025-10200: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-10200 Overview

CVE-2025-10200 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Service Worker component of Google Chrome on Desktop. The flaw affects Chrome versions prior to 140.0.7339.127 across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. A remote attacker can exploit heap corruption by serving a crafted HTML page to a target user. Chromium rates the security severity as Critical, and the CVE is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows remote attackers to corrupt heap memory through a crafted web page, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution within the browser renderer process.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome on Desktop prior to 140.0.7339.127
• Chrome installations on Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Linux
• Chromium-based browsers that share the affected Service Worker code path

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-09-10 - CVE-2025-10200 published to NVD
• 2025-09-22 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-10200

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Chrome's Service Worker implementation, which manages background scripts that intercept network requests and enable offline functionality. A use-after-free condition occurs when the renderer continues to reference Service Worker objects after the underlying memory has been freed. An attacker who controls the contents of the freed heap region can influence subsequent operations on the dangling pointer.

Exploitation requires user interaction, specifically navigating to attacker-controlled web content. Once the user loads the crafted page, the Service Worker lifecycle is manipulated to trigger the unsafe memory reuse. Heap corruption in the renderer process is a common precursor to sandbox-confined code execution, which attackers often chain with a sandbox escape for full compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management within the Service Worker subsystem. Reference counting or ownership tracking fails to keep an object alive while it is still in use, allowing freed memory to be reallocated and accessed through a stale pointer. This is consistent with the [CWE-416] classification assigned to the issue.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. A victim must visit a malicious or compromised page that issues the specific sequence of Service Worker registrations, fetch events, or termination calls needed to free and then reuse the object. No authentication or elevated privileges are required on the target system.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently available, and the issue is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Technical specifics are restricted in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry pending broad patch adoption.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-10200

Indicators of Compromise

• Chrome renderer process crashes with heap corruption signatures shortly after visiting an unfamiliar site
• Unexpected Service Worker registrations under chrome://serviceworker-internals/ from untrusted origins
• Outbound connections from chrome.exe child processes to attacker-controlled domains following a browser crash event

Detection Strategies

• Inventory installed Chrome versions across endpoints and flag any build below 140.0.7339.127
• Monitor crash telemetry from browser renderer processes for repeated faults associated with Service Worker activity
• Inspect web proxy logs for users fetching HTML pages that register Service Workers from low-reputation domains

Monitoring Recommendations

• Forward Chrome update status and version data into a centralized logging or SIEM platform for continuous compliance reporting
• Alert on child process creation from chrome.exe that spawns shells, scripting hosts, or LOLBins shortly after browsing activity
• Track endpoints that disable Chrome auto-update or run extended-support builds outside of the patched version range

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-10200

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome on all desktop endpoints to version 140.0.7339.127 or later
• Restart browser sessions after the update so the patched binary is loaded into memory
• Audit Chromium-based browsers (Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi) and apply vendor updates that incorporate the upstream fix

Patch Information

Google released the fix in the Stable channel update documented in the Google Chrome Desktop Update advisory. Administrators should deploy 140.0.7339.127 or higher through managed update channels such as Group Policy, Jamf, or Intune. The corresponding bug record is tracked in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry.

Workarounds

• Enforce Chrome auto-update via enterprise policy to prevent users from running outdated builds
• Restrict navigation to untrusted sites using web filtering or DNS-layer controls until patching is complete
• Disable Service Workers on high-risk endpoints by configuring the DefaultJavaScriptSetting and content policies through enterprise management where business workflows permit

# Verify the installed Chrome version on Linux endpoints
google-chrome --version

# Windows: query Chrome version from the registry
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Google\Update\Clients\{8A69D345-D564-463C-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}" /v pv

# macOS: confirm the installed Chrome build
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version