CVE-2026-5287
Published: 01 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-5287 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 Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 33.3th 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 RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning) and SI-16 (Memory Protection).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-5287 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the PDF component of Google Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.178. The flaw affects the Chromium-based browser's PDF rendering engine, where an object is freed but later accessed, leading to potential memory corruption. Google rated it as high severity under Chromium security standards, with 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), indicating high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious PDF file and tricking a user into opening it within Google Chrome. No privileges are required, but user interaction is needed to process the file. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution inside the browser's sandbox, potentially enabling further attacks within the constrained environment, such as data theft or additional sandbox escapes if chained with other flaws.
Mitigation is addressed in Google Chrome version 146.0.7680.178 and later, as detailed in the stable channel update on the Chrome Releases blog (https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_31.html) and the corresponding Chromium issue tracker (https://issues.chromium.org/issues/494644471). Security practitioners should ensure users update to the patched version promptly and advise caution with untrusted PDF files.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17804
Vulnerability details
Use after free in PDF in Google Chrome prior to 146.0.7680.178 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted PDF file. (Chromium security severity: High)
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Use-after-free in Chrome PDF renderer enables RCE via crafted malicious PDF requiring user interaction to open, directly mapping to client-side exploitation and malicious file user execution.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Mandates timely identification, reporting, and correction of software flaws, directly requiring patching of the use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's PDF rendering engine.
Implements memory protection safeguards such as ASLR and DEP to prevent unauthorized code execution from use-after-free memory corruption in the PDF component.
Requires vulnerability scanning and monitoring to identify systems running vulnerable versions of Google Chrome affected by CVE-2026-5287.