CVE-2026-13790: Google Chrome Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2026-13790 Overview

CVE-2026-13790 is a side-channel information leakage vulnerability in the Scroll component of Google Chrome versions prior to 150.0.7871.47. A remote attacker can exploit this flaw by serving a crafted HTML page that triggers observable side effects during scroll operations. These side effects allow inference of cross-origin data, breaking the same-origin policy that isolates content between web origins. Chromium engineers rated this issue as High severity, while NVD assigns a medium CVSS score reflecting user interaction requirements. The weakness is tracked as CWE-1300: Improper Protection of Physical Side Channels.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can leak cross-origin data from other websites the victim has loaded, undermining browser security boundaries and enabling theft of sensitive information such as authenticated session content.

Affected Products

Google Chrome for Desktop versions prior to 150.0.7871.47
Chromium-based browsers that inherit the vulnerable Scroll implementation
All supported platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) running affected Chrome builds

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-30 - CVE-2026-13790 published to NVD
2026-07-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-13790

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Chrome's Scroll subsystem, which handles scrolling behavior across frames and documents. Scroll operations produce measurable side effects such as rendering time, layout changes, or scroll offsets that attackers can observe from a controlled page. By correlating these observations with cross-origin content, an attacker can infer information they are not authorized to read directly. This class of flaw defeats the same-origin policy through indirect measurement rather than direct memory access.

Exploitation requires the victim to load a crafted HTML page under attacker control. The confidentiality impact is high because leaked data can include content from authenticated sessions on unrelated origins. Integrity and availability are not affected. Google addressed the issue in the Stable channel update documented in the Google Chrome Update Announcement.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper protection against side channels in scroll handling logic. Timing and behavior of scroll operations vary based on cross-origin content properties. Attackers measure these variations from JavaScript executing in their own origin to reconstruct data belonging to victim origins.

Attack Vector

An attacker hosts a malicious page and lures the victim to visit it. The page embeds cross-origin resources and executes JavaScript that manipulates scroll behavior while measuring timing or observable state. See the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-13790

Indicators of Compromise

Browser process instances of chrome.exe or equivalent binaries reporting versions below 150.0.7871.47 in enterprise inventory data
Outbound connections to untrusted domains hosting HTML pages with heavy scroll-based JavaScript instrumentation
Web proxy logs showing suspicious cross-origin iframe embedding patterns from newly registered domains

Detection Strategies

Query endpoint inventory data to identify hosts running Chrome versions prior to 150.0.7871.47 and prioritize remediation
Inspect browser telemetry for pages that create hidden iframes and repeatedly trigger scroll events against cross-origin content
Correlate DNS and proxy telemetry with threat intelligence feeds to flag domains associated with side-channel exploitation frameworks

Monitoring Recommendations

Track Chrome version distribution across managed endpoints and alert on drift from the patched baseline
Monitor browser crash reports and unusual renderer process CPU spikes that may indicate active side-channel measurement
Review web gateway logs for repeated cross-origin resource loads from single controlled pages

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-13790

Immediate Actions Required

Update Google Chrome to version 150.0.7871.47 or later on all managed endpoints without delay
Force browser restarts through management tooling to ensure the patched binary is loaded into memory
Audit third-party Chromium-based browsers and apply vendor updates that incorporate the upstream fix

Patch Information

Google released the fix in Chrome Stable 150.0.7871.47. Administrators should deploy the update through Chrome Browser Cloud Management, Group Policy, or platform-specific package managers. Full release notes are available in the Google Chrome Update Announcement.

Workarounds

Restrict access to untrusted websites through web filtering policies until patching is complete
Enable Site Isolation enforcement to reduce the surface available to cross-origin side-channel attacks
Disable JavaScript for high-risk browsing contexts where feasible

bash

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

# Windows registry-based version check
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\BLBeacon" /v version