CVE-2026-78966: Externally controlled reference in Google Chrome
Description
CVE-2026-78966 is a medium severity vulnerability in Google Chrome prior to version 152.0.7977.65. It involves an externally controlled reference in the QUIC protocol that allows a remote attacker to bypass the web origin policy via a crafted HTML page. This vulnerability affects Chrome desktop versions before the specified fixed release.
CVSS v3.1
Score 4.3medium
Affected software
Chrome
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Google Chrome's QUIC implementation allows a remote attacker to bypass the web origin policy by leveraging an externally controlled reference. The flaw exists in versions prior to 152.0.7977.65 and can be triggered through a crafted HTML page. The web origin policy bypass could potentially allow limited unauthorized access to resources, but the CVSS score and vector indicate low impact on confidentiality and no impact on integrity or availability.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to bypass the web origin policy, which could lead to limited unauthorized access to web resources. The CVSS score of 4.3 (medium) reflects a low confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available in Google Chrome version 152.0.7977.65. Users and administrators should update to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. Refer to the official Google Chrome stable channel update advisory at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0256176589.html for details.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- Chrome
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-25T06:05:19.495Z
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0256176589.html","vendor":"Google"}]
Threat ID: 6a8df9bfacd9273b49ac6e1e
Added to database: 08/25/2026, 20:23:27 UTC
Last enriched: 09/10/2026, 17:08:40 UTC
Last updated: 10/07/2026, 18:48:23 UTC
Views: 28
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