CVE-2026-4444: Google Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-4444 Overview

A stack buffer overflow vulnerability has been identified in the WebRTC component of Google Chrome prior to version 146.0.7680.153. This memory corruption flaw allows remote attackers to potentially exploit stack corruption through a specially crafted HTML page. The vulnerability affects Google Chrome across all major operating systems and poses significant risk to users who visit malicious websites.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this stack buffer overflow to potentially achieve arbitrary code execution by corrupting the stack through a crafted HTML page, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome prior to version 146.0.7680.153
• Google Chrome on Microsoft Windows
• Google Chrome on Apple macOS
• Google Chrome on Linux

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-20 - CVE-2026-4444 published to NVD
• 2026-03-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-4444

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow), a critical memory corruption issue in the WebRTC implementation within Google Chrome. The WebRTC component handles real-time communication capabilities including audio, video, and data sharing directly in the browser. When processing specially crafted data through a malicious HTML page, the WebRTC component fails to properly validate input boundaries, leading to a stack buffer overflow condition.

The vulnerability requires user interaction—specifically, a victim must navigate to or be redirected to a malicious webpage containing the crafted HTML payload. Once triggered, the overflow can corrupt adjacent stack memory, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite return addresses or other critical stack data. This memory corruption can be leveraged to hijack control flow and execute arbitrary code within the context of the Chrome renderer process.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper bounds checking within the WebRTC stack when handling specific input data. When the WebRTC component processes certain malformed or oversized data structures from an HTML page, it writes beyond the allocated buffer on the stack. This occurs because the code does not adequately validate the size of incoming data against the fixed-size buffer allocated for processing, resulting in a classic stack-based buffer overflow condition.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires the target user to visit a malicious website or be redirected to one through various means such as phishing emails, malicious advertisements, or compromised legitimate websites. The attacker crafts an HTML page that triggers the vulnerable code path in the WebRTC component. When the victim's browser renders this page, the specially crafted data causes the stack buffer overflow.

The exploitation scenario involves the following steps:

1. Attacker hosts or injects a malicious HTML page on a web server
2. Victim navigates to the malicious page using a vulnerable version of Google Chrome
3. The WebRTC component processes the crafted content, triggering the buffer overflow
4. Stack corruption occurs, potentially allowing code execution in the renderer process
5. If sandbox escape techniques are combined, full system compromise may be achieved

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-4444

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual crash reports from the Chrome renderer process related to WebRTC functionality
• Unexpected memory access violations or stack corruption errors in browser logs
• Chrome processes exhibiting abnormal behavior after visiting specific websites
• Network traffic containing malformed WebRTC signaling data from suspicious sources

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for Chrome crash dumps indicating stack corruption in WebRTC-related modules
• Implement web proxy rules to inspect and flag potentially malicious HTML content targeting WebRTC
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying memory corruption exploitation attempts
• Enable Chrome's built-in crash reporting to identify patterns of WebRTC-related crashes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Review Chrome browser logs for WebRTC-related exceptions or error conditions
• Monitor network traffic for connections to known malicious domains serving exploit code
• Implement browser isolation solutions for high-risk users accessing untrusted websites
• Leverage SentinelOne Singularity platform for real-time detection of memory corruption exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-4444

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 146.0.7680.153 or later immediately
• Enable automatic browser updates to ensure timely deployment of security patches
• Advise users to avoid visiting untrusted websites until the update is applied
• Consider temporarily disabling WebRTC functionality in Chrome if immediate patching is not possible

Patch Information

Google has released a security update addressing this vulnerability in Chrome version 146.0.7680.153. Organizations should prioritize updating all Chrome installations to this version or later. The update is available through Chrome's built-in update mechanism and can be deployed via enterprise management tools. For detailed information, refer to the Google Chrome Stable Channel Update and the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry.

Workarounds

• Disable WebRTC in Chrome by using browser extensions or enterprise policies until patching is complete
• Implement network-level controls to block access to known malicious domains
• Use browser isolation solutions to contain potential exploitation attempts
• Configure Chrome enterprise policies to restrict access to high-risk websites

# Chrome enterprise policy to disable WebRTC (Windows registry example)
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v WebRtcIPHandling /t REG_SZ /d "disable_non_proxied_udp" /f

# Verify Chrome version meets minimum patched version
google-chrome --version
# Expected output: Google Chrome 146.0.7680.153 or higher