CVE-2025-5068: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-5068 Overview

CVE-2025-5068 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Blink rendering engine used by Google Chrome prior to version 137.0.7151.68. A remote attacker can trigger heap corruption by serving a crafted HTML page to a target browser. Successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution within the renderer process context. The flaw is tracked under CWE-416 and was addressed in the Chrome Stable channel update released in early June 2025.

Critical Impact

A remote attacker can trigger heap corruption in the Blink renderer through a crafted web page, enabling potential arbitrary code execution after user interaction with the page.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 137.0.7151.68 (Desktop)
• Chromium-based browsers embedding vulnerable Blink builds
• All platforms supported by Chrome Stable (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-03 - CVE-2025-5068 published to the National Vulnerability Database
• 2025-09-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5068

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Blink, the open-source rendering engine inside Chrome that parses HTML, applies CSS, and executes layout. A use-after-free condition occurs when Blink retains a reference to a heap object after that object has been freed. When the dangling pointer is later dereferenced, the freed memory may already hold attacker-controlled data, producing heap corruption.

In renderer-engine bugs of this class, attackers commonly chain the primitive with a sandbox escape to reach the host system. By itself, the flaw allows manipulation of renderer-process memory, which JavaScript can leverage to construct arbitrary read and write primitives.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management within Blink's DOM or layout subsystem (CWE-416). A code path frees an object while another reference remains live, producing a dangling pointer. Specific component details are tracked in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry, which remains restricted while users update.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires a victim to load a crafted HTML page in a vulnerable Chrome build. The attacker hosts malicious markup or JavaScript that drives Blink into the vulnerable state, then sprays the heap to control the freed slot. User interaction with the page is required, which aligns with typical phishing or malvertising delivery. No authentication or elevated privileges are needed on the target system.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The EPSS probability is 0.449% at the 63.781 percentile.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5068

Indicators of Compromise

• Chrome renderer process crashes with heap corruption signatures shortly after visiting an untrusted page
• Outbound connections from chrome.exe child processes to newly registered or low-reputation domains
• Unexpected child processes spawned by Chrome following web navigation events
• Browser telemetry showing Blink crash reports referencing freed DOM or layout objects

Detection Strategies

• Inventory installed Chrome versions across the fleet and flag any build below 137.0.7151.68
• Monitor endpoint EDR telemetry for anomalous behavior originating from Chrome renderer processes, including memory injection or shellcode execution patterns
• Inspect web proxy logs for HTML payloads with heavy DOM manipulation, large typed arrays, or heap-spray patterns
• Correlate Chrome crash dumps with browsing history to identify candidate exploit URLs

Monitoring Recommendations

• Forward Chrome update status and crash telemetry to a central log platform for version compliance reporting
• Alert on Chrome processes performing unusual file system writes or creating persistence artifacts
• Track network connections from browser processes against threat intelligence feeds covering exploit kits

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5068

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 137.0.7151.68 or later on all managed endpoints
• Restart browser sessions after patch deployment to ensure the updated binaries are loaded
• Apply equivalent updates to any Chromium-based browsers (Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi) that ship Blink
• Block known malicious domains hosting crafted exploit pages at the web proxy or DNS layer

Patch Information

Google released the fix in the Chrome Stable channel update announced in the Google Chrome Desktop Update. Administrators should validate that managed deployments have rolled out 137.0.7151.68 or later through enterprise update channels.

Workarounds

• Enforce Chrome's Site Isolation and renderer sandbox features, which remain enabled by default
• Restrict execution of untrusted JavaScript through enterprise policies or browser extensions where feasible
• Route browsing through a remote browser isolation service for high-risk user groups until patching is complete

# Verify installed Chrome version on Linux/macOS
google-chrome --version

# Windows PowerShell version check
(Get-Item "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe").VersionInfo.ProductVersion