CVE-2026-11633 Overview
CVE-2026-11633 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Bluetooth component of Google Chrome on macOS. The flaw affects Chrome versions prior to 149.0.7827.103 and is tracked under CWE-416. A remote attacker who controls a malicious Bluetooth peripheral can trigger the dangling pointer condition and execute arbitrary code in the context of the browser process. Chromium assigned this issue a Critical security severity internally, while NVD scores it 8.8. Successful exploitation requires the victim to interact with the malicious peripheral, typically through the Web Bluetooth API.
Critical Impact
Remote attackers can achieve arbitrary code execution on macOS hosts running vulnerable Chrome builds by pairing the browser with a malicious Bluetooth peripheral.
Affected Products
- Google Chrome on macOS prior to 149.0.7827.103
- Apple macOS hosts running affected Chrome builds
- Chromium-derived browsers on macOS that have not merged the upstream fix
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-06-09 - CVE-2026-11633 published to NVD
- 2026-06-09 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-11633
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in Chrome's Bluetooth subsystem on macOS, which exposes peripheral interaction through the Web Bluetooth API. A use-after-free condition occurs when the browser continues to reference a heap object after it has been freed during peripheral state transitions. An attacker controlling a paired or advertising Bluetooth peripheral can manipulate connection events to free the underlying object while a pointer to it remains in use. Reusing that pointer allows the attacker to influence freed memory contents and hijack execution flow within the renderer or browser process. Chromium classified the issue as Critical, indicating reliable exploitation paths to arbitrary code execution.
Root Cause
The defect is a classic [CWE-416] Use After Free. Object lifetimes in the macOS Bluetooth adapter code are not synchronized with the asynchronous events the peripheral can emit. When the peripheral disconnects, errors, or transitions service state at a specific moment, the owning object is released while callbacks or handles still reference it. Subsequent dispatches dereference the freed allocation. Refer to the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry for upstream technical details.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires a remote attacker to operate or impersonate a Bluetooth peripheral within range of the victim and convince the user to interact with it through Chrome. The Web Bluetooth API surfaces peripheral selection through navigator.bluetooth.requestDevice, which requires user gesture and selection. Once the user pairs with the malicious peripheral, attacker-controlled GATT (Generic Attribute Profile) events can trigger the freed-object access. No prior authentication to the host is required. Successful execution yields code execution in the browser process, which can be chained with sandbox escapes for full host compromise. See the Google Chrome Release Note for the official advisory.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-11633
Indicators of Compromise
- Chrome browser processes on macOS spawning unexpected child processes shortly after Bluetooth pairing events.
- Unexpected crashes or EXC_BAD_ACCESS faults in Google Chrome Helper referencing Bluetooth or IOBluetooth frames.
- macOS endpoints running Chrome versions earlier than 149.0.7827.103 with Web Bluetooth usage in browser history.
Detection Strategies
- Inventory installed Chrome versions across macOS endpoints and flag any build below 149.0.7827.103.
- Correlate Bluetooth pairing events with subsequent process creation, file writes, or network egress from Chrome helper processes.
- Hunt for renderer or GPU process crashes accompanied by anomalous follow-on activity, which can indicate exploitation attempts.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable EDR telemetry for process lineage, code-signing anomalies, and library loads under Chrome helper processes on macOS.
- Monitor enterprise device management logs for new or rogue Bluetooth peripherals appearing in environments where Bluetooth is otherwise restricted.
- Alert on Chrome auto-update failures so that endpoints do not silently remain on vulnerable versions.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-11633
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Google Chrome on all macOS endpoints to 149.0.7827.103 or later through managed software distribution.
- Restart Chrome after the update so that the patched binaries are loaded into memory.
- Verify Chromium-based browsers on macOS have ingested the corresponding upstream fix before relying on them.
Patch Information
Google released the fix in the Stable channel update for Chrome 149.0.7827.103 on macOS. Administrators should consult the Google Chrome Release Note and the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry for change references. Force-deploy the update via MDM, Jamf, or equivalent tooling rather than relying on user-driven updates.
Workarounds
- Disable the Web Bluetooth API via enterprise policy by setting DefaultWebBluetoothGuardSetting to 2 in the Chrome configuration profile.
- Disable macOS Bluetooth on endpoints that do not require it until patching completes.
- Restrict use of untrusted Bluetooth peripherals and discourage pairing in public environments while vulnerable Chrome versions remain in service.
# Chrome enterprise policy to block Web Bluetooth on macOS
# /Library/Managed Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist
defaults write com.google.Chrome DefaultWebBluetoothGuardSetting -int 2
# Verify deployed Chrome version meets the patched build
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
