CVE-2026-13792: Google Chrome Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2026-13792 Overview

CVE-2026-13792 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Touchbar component of Google Chrome on macOS. The flaw affects Chrome versions prior to 150.0.7871.47 and is tracked under [CWE-416: Use After Free]. A remote attacker can exploit the vulnerability by serving a crafted HTML page to a targeted user. Successful exploitation may lead to a sandbox escape, breaking one of Chrome's core security boundaries on macOS hosts. Google's Chromium project rated the security severity as High, and the National Vulnerability Database assigned a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6.

Critical Impact
A crafted web page can trigger a use-after-free in Chrome's macOS Touchbar code, enabling a sandbox escape from the renderer context.

Affected Products

Google Chrome on macOS prior to 150.0.7871.47
Apple macOS hosts running vulnerable Chrome builds
Chromium-based browsers on macOS that share the affected Touchbar code path

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-30 - CVE-2026-13792 published to NVD
2026-07-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-13792

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a use-after-free (UAF) condition in Chrome's Touchbar integration on macOS. Touchbar support in Chrome bridges the browser UI with Apple's NSTouchBar APIs, exposing objects tied to tabs, page content, and browser controls. A UAF occurs when code retains and reuses a pointer to an object after that object has been deallocated. In this case, an attacker-controlled HTML page can manipulate browser state so that a Touchbar-related object is freed while a stale reference remains reachable. Subsequent access dereferences memory that may now hold attacker-influenced data, enabling control of program flow. The advisory indicates the resulting primitive can be chained into a sandbox escape, elevating impact beyond a renderer compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management between Chrome's browser process and macOS Touchbar callbacks. Reference tracking on Touchbar items fails to account for asynchronous destruction paths triggered from web content. When a Touchbar handler executes after the underlying object has been released, the freed memory is used as if still valid.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires a victim to load a crafted HTML page in a vulnerable Chrome build on macOS. User interaction is required, consistent with the CVSS vector's UI:R component. No prior authentication is needed, and the scope changes because a successful chain crosses the renderer sandbox boundary. Full technical details are limited pending public disclosure. See the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry and the Google Chrome Desktop Update for vendor context.

No verified proof-of-concept code has been published for this issue. The vulnerability class (CWE-416) is typically exploited by grooming the heap, freeing the target object through a race or reentrant callback, and then reusing the dangling pointer to hijack a virtual function call or object vtable.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-13792

Indicators of Compromise

Chrome renderer or browser process crashes on macOS with signatures referencing Touchbar (NSTouchBar) frames
Unexpected child processes spawned by Google Chrome Helper following visits to untrusted pages
Outbound connections from Chrome processes to newly registered or low-reputation domains hosting HTML payloads

Detection Strategies

Inventory macOS endpoints and identify Chrome installations reporting a version below 150.0.7871.47
Correlate Chrome crash telemetry with URL history to surface pages that trigger repeated Touchbar-related faults
Monitor for anomalous file writes or process launches originating from Chrome helper processes, which may indicate post-sandbox-escape activity

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest macOS ReportCrash and Chrome crashpad data into a centralized log platform for signature analysis
Alert on execution of shell interpreters or launchctl invocations parented to Chrome processes
Track browser version compliance continuously and flag hosts that fall behind the fixed release

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-13792

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Google Chrome on macOS to version 150.0.7871.47 or later across all managed endpoints
Restart Chrome after update to ensure the patched binary is loaded into memory
Verify enterprise policy pushes the fixed version and blocks rollback to vulnerable builds

Patch Information

Google addressed CVE-2026-13792 in the Chrome Stable channel release documented in the Google Chrome Desktop Update. Administrators should deploy Chrome 150.0.7871.47 or later. Chromium-based browsers that consume the upstream fix should be updated as their vendors publish corresponding releases.

Workarounds

Restrict browsing to trusted sites until patching completes, since exploitation requires loading a crafted HTML page
Enforce Chrome enterprise policies that disable auto-restore of tabs from untrusted origins after crashes
Consider temporary use of an alternative, patched browser on macOS endpoints that cannot immediately update Chrome

bash

# Verify installed Chrome version on macOS
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version

# Force update via Google Software Update
/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent -runMode oneshot -userInitiated YES