CVE-2026-7900: Google Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-7900 Overview

CVE-2026-7900 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine), the graphics abstraction component used by Google Chrome to translate OpenGL ES API calls to native graphics drivers. The flaw affects Google Chrome versions prior to 148.0.7778.96 across Windows, macOS, and Linux. An attacker who has already compromised the renderer process can exploit this issue through a crafted HTML page to potentially escape the Chrome sandbox. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow and Google rates the Chromium security severity as High.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation enables sandbox escape from a compromised renderer process, allowing attackers to execute code outside Chrome's security boundary and gain access to the underlying operating system.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome versions prior to 148.0.7778.96
• Chrome installations on Microsoft Windows
• Chrome installations on Apple macOS and Linux distributions

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-05-06 - CVE-2026-7900 published to NVD
• 2026-05-06 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-7900

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in ANGLE, the graphics translation layer that Chrome uses to map OpenGL ES calls to platform-specific graphics APIs such as Direct3D on Windows, Metal on macOS, and Vulkan or OpenGL on Linux. ANGLE runs within the GPU process, which sits at a higher privilege level than the sandboxed renderer process.

A heap buffer overflow occurs when ANGLE writes data beyond the bounds of an allocated heap region. Because ANGLE handles untrusted input from web content via WebGL and related graphics APIs, malformed graphics commands can corrupt heap memory in the GPU process.

This vulnerability is a sandbox escape primitive rather than an initial access vector. The attacker must first compromise the renderer process, typically by chaining with a separate renderer-side bug, then leverage CVE-2026-7900 to break out of the sandbox.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper bounds checking on heap-allocated buffers within ANGLE when processing graphics commands forwarded from the renderer. Specific technical details have not been published in the public Chromium issue tracker entry, which remains restricted pending broad patch deployment.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires user interaction in the form of visiting a crafted HTML page. The attack proceeds in two stages: first, a renderer compromise via a separate bug; second, the issuance of malicious graphics calls that trigger the heap overflow in ANGLE to corrupt GPU process memory and achieve sandbox escape.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available. The Chromium issue tracker entry at Chromium Issue 496503799 remains access-restricted.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-7900

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected child processes spawned by the Chrome GPU process (chrome.exe --type=gpu-process) that deviate from normal browser behavior.
• Crashes or instability in the GPU process correlated with visits to untrusted websites, recorded in Chrome crash logs.
• Outbound network connections originating from the Chrome GPU process to non-Google infrastructure.

Detection Strategies

• Monitor process trees for Chrome GPU process anomalies, including unusual handle creation, memory allocations, or attempts to load non-standard modules.
• Inspect Chrome version telemetry across the fleet and flag endpoints running Chrome builds older than 148.0.7778.96.
• Correlate browser crash dumps with WebGL or graphics-related stack frames pointing to ANGLE modules.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable EDR telemetry on browser process lineage and child process creation events.
• Track Chrome auto-update status across managed endpoints to confirm patch deployment.
• Alert on sandbox escape behaviors such as the GPU process accessing files or registry keys outside expected paths.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-7900

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome to version 148.0.7778.96 or later on all Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints.
• Restart Chrome after the update completes to ensure the patched binaries are loaded.
• Verify the deployed version using chrome://settings/help or enterprise inventory tools.

Patch Information

Google released the fix in the Chrome Stable channel update documented in the Stable Channel Update for Desktop. Enterprises managing Chrome via Group Policy or Chrome Browser Cloud Management should validate that auto-update is enabled and not blocked by network policies.

Workarounds

• Disable hardware acceleration in Chrome via chrome://settings to reduce ANGLE attack surface, accepting the performance trade-off.
• Restrict access to untrusted websites through enterprise web filtering until patching is complete.
• Apply the HardwareAccelerationModeEnabled enterprise policy set to false as a temporary control.

# Configuration example - Chrome enterprise policy to disable hardware acceleration
# Windows registry path:
# HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\HardwareAccelerationModeEnabled = 0
#
# macOS plist:
# defaults write com.google.Chrome HardwareAccelerationModeEnabled -bool false
#
# Linux JSON policy at /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/hwaccel.json:
{
  "HardwareAccelerationModeEnabled": false
}