CVE-2026-5284
Published: 01 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-5284 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Google Chrome. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 26.0th 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-2 (Flaw Remediation) and SC-39 (Process Isolation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-5284 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the Dawn component of Google Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.178. Dawn, which handles WebGPU functionality in Chromium, contains a memory safety flaw that was publicly disclosed on 2026-04-01. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is rated High severity by Chromium security standards.
A remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process can exploit this vulnerability via a crafted HTML page to achieve arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires network access, high attack complexity, no privileges, and user interaction, such as visiting a malicious site, but offers high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability within the unchanged security scope.
Mitigation is addressed in the stable channel update for Chrome desktop, detailed in the Chrome Releases blog at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_31.html, which patches the issue in version 146.0.7680.178 and later. Additional technical details are available in the Chromium issue tracker at https://issues.chromium.org/issues/492139412. Security practitioners should prioritize updating affected Chrome installations.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17800
Vulnerability details
Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 146.0.7680.178 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Use-after-free in Chrome renderer (WebGPU/Dawn) enables arbitrary code execution via crafted HTML page after renderer compromise, directly mapping to client-side exploitation (T1203) and drive-by compromise through malicious site visit (T1189).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly mitigates the use-after-free vulnerability by requiring timely application of vendor patches, such as the Chrome update to version 146.0.7680.178.
Provides memory protection mechanisms like ASLR and DEP that hinder reliable exploitation of the use-after-free flaw for arbitrary code execution.
Isolates the compromised renderer process in a sandbox, limiting the scope and impact of arbitrary code execution from affecting the broader system.