Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-2648

Memory Safety in Google Chrome ≤ 145.0.7632.109

Memory Safety
Published
18 February 2026
Modified
19 February 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0048 39th percentile
Risk Priority 64 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-2648 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 39th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-2648 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability, classified under CWE-122, affecting the PDFium component in Google Chrome versions prior to 145.0.7632.109. Published on 2026-02-18, it enables a remote attacker to perform an out-of-bounds memory write through a specially crafted PDF file. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is rated High severity by Chromium security.

A remote attacker without privileges can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity by convincing a user to open a malicious PDF file in an affected Chrome browser, requiring user interaction. Successful exploitation allows high-impact consequences across confidentiality, integrity, and availability, such as potential arbitrary code execution via the out-of-bounds memory write.

Google addressed the vulnerability in Chrome version 145.0.7632.109. Official advisories include the Chrome Releases stable channel update at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html and the Chromium issue tracker entry at https://issues.chromium.org/issues/477033835.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Heap buffer overflow in PDFium in Google Chrome prior to 145.0.7632.109 allowed a remote attacker to perform an out of bounds memory write via a crafted PDF file. (Chromium security severity: High)

CWE(s)
CWE-122

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-4096Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-14427Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-17758Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-19156Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-13835Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-6361Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-10995Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-2650Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2026-10993Same product: Google Chrome
CVE-2025-0434Same product: Google Chrome

Affected Assets

google
chrome
≤ 145.0.7632.109

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and memory-error detectors) can discover heap overflows after they have been coded.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation enforces bounds checking on data written to heap buffers, directly stopping the overflow condition from being introduced.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require use of memory-safe constructs and bounds-checked allocation routines that avoid introducing heap overflows.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability of a heap overflow to execute attacker-controlled code or corrupt adjacent structures.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.

References