CVE-2026-4678
Published: 24 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-4678 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Drive-by Compromise (T1189); ranked at the 12.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of the use-after-free flaw in Chrome's WebGPU component via patching to version 146.0.7680.165 or later.
Implements memory protections specifically designed to prevent unauthorized code execution from use-after-free vulnerabilities like this one in WebGPU.
Enables vulnerability scanning to identify systems running vulnerable Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.165, facilitating remediation.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Use-after-free in WebGPU exploited via crafted HTML page enables drive-by compromise (T1189) and exploitation for client execution (T1203) in the browser sandbox.
NVD Description
Use after free in WebGPU in Google Chrome prior to 146.0.7680.165 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-4678 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the WebGPU component of Google Chrome prior to version 146.0.7680.165. Published on 2026-03-24, it 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 classified as High severity by Chromium security.
A remote attacker without privileges can exploit this flaw by luring a user to visit a crafted HTML page, triggering the use-after-free condition in WebGPU. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution within the browser's sandbox.
Google's stable channel update for desktop Chrome, announced at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_23.html, patches this issue in version 146.0.7680.165 and later. Additional details are available in the Chromium issue tracker at https://issues.chromium.org/issues/491164019. Security practitioners should prioritize updating affected browsers to mitigate remote code execution risks.
Details
- CWE(s)