CVE-2026-7940: Use after free in Google Chrome
Use after free in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 148.0.7778.96 allowed an attacker who convinced a user to install a malicious extension to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted Chrome Extension. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in the V8 engine component of Google Chrome before version 148.0.7778.96. Exploitation requires social engineering to persuade a user to install a crafted malicious Chrome extension, which then enables arbitrary code execution inside the sandbox. The issue was publicly disclosed with a medium severity rating by Chromium security. A stable update has been released by Google to remediate this vulnerability.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution within the sandboxed environment of Chrome via a malicious extension. This could potentially lead to unauthorized actions within the browser context but is limited by sandbox restrictions. There are no reports of active exploitation in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Google has released a stable channel update for Chrome version 148.0.7778.96 that addresses this vulnerability. Users and administrators should update to this version or later to remediate the issue. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on applying the update on client devices. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory linked.
CVE-2026-7940: Use after free in Google Chrome
Description
Use after free in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 148.0.7778.96 allowed an attacker who convinced a user to install a malicious extension to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted Chrome Extension. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in the V8 engine component of Google Chrome before version 148.0.7778.96. Exploitation requires social engineering to persuade a user to install a crafted malicious Chrome extension, which then enables arbitrary code execution inside the sandbox. The issue was publicly disclosed with a medium severity rating by Chromium security. A stable update has been released by Google to remediate this vulnerability.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution within the sandboxed environment of Chrome via a malicious extension. This could potentially lead to unauthorized actions within the browser context but is limited by sandbox restrictions. There are no reports of active exploitation in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Google has released a stable channel update for Chrome version 148.0.7778.96 that addresses this vulnerability. Users and administrators should update to this version or later to remediate the issue. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on applying the update on client devices. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory linked.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- Chrome
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-05T22:59:15.321Z
- Cvss Version
- null
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop.html","vendor":"Google"}]
Threat ID: 69fb86dacbff5d861024d315
Added to database: 5/6/2026, 6:22:18 PM
Last enriched: 5/6/2026, 7:23:43 PM
Last updated: 5/7/2026, 8:15:40 AM
Views: 4
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