CVE-2026-5275: Google Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-5275 Overview

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine) in Google Chrome on Mac prior to version 146.0.7680.178. This memory corruption flaw allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code by convincing a victim to visit a specially crafted HTML page. ANGLE is Chrome's graphics abstraction layer that translates OpenGL ES API calls to various native graphics APIs, making it a critical attack surface for browser exploitation.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can achieve arbitrary code execution through a malicious webpage, potentially compromising the victim's system with no prior authentication required.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.178
• Apple macOS (primary affected platform)
• Google Chrome on Linux and Windows (also affected)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-01 - CVE-2026-5275 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-5275

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow), a critical memory corruption issue that occurs when data is written beyond the boundaries of an allocated heap buffer. In the context of ANGLE, this component serves as Chrome's cross-platform graphics translation layer, converting WebGL and OpenGL ES calls to platform-native graphics APIs such as Metal on macOS, Direct3D on Windows, and OpenGL on Linux.

The heap overflow in ANGLE can be triggered through WebGL content embedded in a malicious HTML page. When the browser processes specially crafted graphics commands or shader code, it fails to properly validate buffer boundaries, allowing an attacker to corrupt adjacent heap memory. This corruption can be leveraged to overwrite critical data structures, function pointers, or vtables, ultimately enabling arbitrary code execution within the context of the Chrome renderer process.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper bounds checking in ANGLE's heap memory allocation and data handling routines. When processing certain graphics operations or shader compilations, the code fails to validate that write operations remain within the bounds of allocated buffers. This allows attacker-controlled data to overflow into adjacent heap memory regions, corrupting heap metadata or other allocated objects.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker must:

1. Host a malicious webpage containing crafted WebGL or HTML5 canvas content
2. Lure the victim to visit the malicious page through phishing, malvertising, or watering hole attacks
3. When the victim's Chrome browser renders the page, the malicious graphics content triggers the heap overflow
4. The attacker achieves code execution within the Chrome renderer sandbox

Due to Chrome's multi-process architecture and sandbox, additional sandbox escape techniques would typically be required for full system compromise, though renderer compromise alone can lead to data theft, credential harvesting, and further exploitation attempts.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-5275

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Chrome renderer process crashes, particularly when visiting unknown websites
• Anomalous WebGL or graphics-related error messages in Chrome's internal logs
• Unusual memory consumption patterns in Chrome renderer processes
• Suspicious network connections originating from Chrome processes after visiting untrusted pages

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for Chrome crash reports with ANGLE or GPU-related stack traces
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect heap spray patterns and suspicious memory allocations
• Implement network monitoring for connections to known malicious domains serving WebGL exploit content
• Use browser telemetry to identify pages causing repeated renderer crashes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Chrome's crash reporting and analyze crash dumps for ANGLE-related failures
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity to detect post-exploitation behavior following browser compromise
• Monitor for suspicious child process creation from Chrome renderer processes
• Implement web proxy logging to track access to potentially malicious URLs

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-5275

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 146.0.7680.178 or later immediately
• Enable automatic Chrome updates to ensure timely patching of future vulnerabilities
• Consider temporarily disabling WebGL in Chrome settings for high-risk environments pending patch deployment
• Deploy endpoint protection capable of detecting exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Google has released a security update addressing this vulnerability in Chrome version 146.0.7680.178. The fix is available through the stable channel update. For detailed information about this release, refer to the Google Chrome Stable Update announcement. Additional technical details may be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker.

Workarounds

• Disable WebGL in Chrome by navigating to chrome://settings/ and disabling hardware acceleration, or by launching Chrome with the --disable-webgl flag
• Implement network-level blocking of known malicious domains serving exploit content
• Use browser isolation solutions to render untrusted content in isolated containers
• Restrict browsing to trusted websites only until patching is complete

# Launch Chrome with WebGL disabled as a temporary workaround
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --disable-webgl

# Alternatively, disable hardware acceleration via command line
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --disable-gpu