CVE-2025-11205: Google Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-11205 Overview

CVE-2025-11205 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the WebGPU implementation of Google Chrome prior to version 141.0.7390.54. This vulnerability allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. The vulnerability is classified as a Heap Overflow (CWE-122) and Out-of-Bounds Write (CWE-787) issue.

Critical Impact

A successful exploit could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, escape the Chrome sandbox after renderer compromise, or cause system instability through heap corruption. This vulnerability requires user interaction (visiting a malicious page) but can be exploited remotely over the network.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 141.0.7390.54
• Affected on Apple macOS platforms
• Affected on Linux kernel-based systems
• Affected on Microsoft Windows platforms

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-11-06 - CVE-2025-11205 published to NVD
• 2025-11-13 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-11205

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability exists within the WebGPU component of Google Chrome, which is the modern graphics API that provides access to GPU capabilities for web applications. The heap buffer overflow occurs when the browser processes specially crafted WebGPU commands or data structures, allowing an attacker to write data beyond the allocated heap buffer boundaries.

WebGPU is designed to provide low-level, high-performance graphics and compute capabilities to web applications. However, the complexity of GPU memory management and command processing creates opportunities for memory safety issues when input validation is insufficient.

The vulnerability requires that an attacker has already compromised the renderer process, which serves as a prerequisite for exploitation. This typically means chaining this vulnerability with another flaw to achieve initial renderer compromise before leveraging the heap corruption for further exploitation such as sandbox escape.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper bounds checking in the WebGPU implementation when handling certain GPU-related data structures or commands. When processing maliciously crafted input, the code fails to validate buffer boundaries correctly, leading to heap memory corruption. The affected code path allows write operations to exceed the allocated buffer size, corrupting adjacent heap memory regions.

Attack Vector

The attack vector requires the victim to visit a malicious HTML page containing crafted WebGPU commands. The exploitation flow follows these steps:

1. The attacker first compromises the renderer process through a separate vulnerability
2. The attacker then delivers a specially crafted HTML page with malicious WebGPU API calls
3. The WebGPU implementation processes the crafted commands without proper boundary validation
4. Heap buffer overflow occurs, corrupting adjacent memory structures
5. The attacker leverages the heap corruption for code execution or sandbox escape

The attack is network-based and requires user interaction to visit the malicious page, but no special privileges are required from the attacker's perspective.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-11205

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome renderer process crashes, particularly when browsing untrusted websites
• Crash dumps indicating heap corruption in WebGPU-related modules or Dawn (Chrome's WebGPU implementation)
• Anomalous memory access patterns in Chrome processes related to GPU operations
• Detection of unusual WebGPU API usage patterns in network traffic or browser logs

Detection Strategies

• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor Chrome process behavior for signs of exploitation
• Implement browser telemetry monitoring to detect unusual WebGPU API call patterns or renderer crashes
• Use sandbox escape detection mechanisms to identify attempts to break out of Chrome's security boundary
• Monitor for abnormal child process spawning from Chrome renderer processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Chrome crash reporting and monitor for crashes in WebGPU or Dawn components
• Configure security information and event management (SIEM) systems to alert on multiple Chrome renderer crashes from the same user
• Monitor for indicators of sandbox escape attempts following renderer crashes
• Review browser extension activity logs for suspicious WebGPU-related operations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-11205

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 141.0.7390.54 or later immediately on all affected systems
• Enable automatic updates for Chrome to ensure timely deployment of security patches
• Review any systems that may have delayed update policies and prioritize patching
• Consider temporarily disabling WebGPU for high-risk users until patching is complete

Patch Information

Google has released Chrome version 141.0.7390.54 which addresses this heap buffer overflow vulnerability. The fix is included in the stable channel update released on September 30, 2025. Organizations should reference the Google Chrome Release Note for complete patch details. Additional technical information can be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry.

Workarounds

• Disable WebGPU by launching Chrome with the --disable-features=WebGPU flag if updating is not immediately possible
• Restrict access to untrusted websites using URL filtering or web proxy policies
• Implement browser isolation technologies to contain potential exploitation attempts
• Use enterprise browser management to enforce strict security policies until patching is complete

# Disable WebGPU feature flag in Chrome
# Launch Chrome with WebGPU disabled as a temporary workaround
google-chrome --disable-features=WebGPU

# For enterprise deployment via policy (Windows)
# Add to Chrome policies in registry or via GPO:
# HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
# REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v EnabledFeatures /t REG_SZ /d "DisableWebGPU" /f