Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessCraft malicious HTML with CSS
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DeliveryUser opens page in Chrome browser
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ExploitCSS parser triggers heap buffer overflow
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ExecutionCorrupt heap memory
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code with renderer privileges
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The victim must open a crafted HTML page in Google Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.153. Remote unauthenticated attacker sends malicious HTML triggering heap buffer overflow in CSS parser. No special browser configuration required; default Chrome installations vulnerable. |
| Impact | The real-world risk is substantial despite missing CVSS and EPSS numeric scores. Key risk signals include: (1) Chromium classified this as High severity, reflecting confidence in exploitation potential; (2) the attack vector is Network (unauthenticated remote delivery via HTML/CSS), making exploitation trivially accessible; (3) heap corruption vulnerabilities are historically leveraged for sandbox escapes and code execution in browsers; (4) patch availability confirms the vendor validated exploitability; (5) Debian tracking 9 releases indicates broad ecosystem impact. The absence of CVSS/EPSS data is unusual but does not diminish risk—High-severity heap overflows in rendering engines are consistently exploited in real-world campaigns. The attack complexity is likely Low given that CSS parsing is automatic and requires only convincing a user to visit a webpage. This should be treated as a critical priority for patching, particularly in enterprise environments where browser-based threat vectors are significant. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing adversarially designed CSS that triggers improper buffer bounds handling in Chrome's CSS parser, causing a heap buffer overflow. When a user visits the attacker's website or opens an HTML email attachment, the browser automatically processes the malicious CSS, corrupting the heap and potentially allowing the attacker to overwrite function pointers or other critical data structures. Depending on heap layout and exploit sophistication, this could enable sandbox escape and execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the Chrome process, allowing credential theft, malware installation, or lateral movement within a network. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 20, 2026
Google Chrome versions prior to 146.0.7680.153 contain a heap buffer overflow in CSS parsing that enables remote code execution when users visit malicious HTML pages. An unauthenticated attacker can trigger heap memory corruption through a crafted webpage, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with user privileges. A patch is available and should be applied immediately to all affected systems.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the CSS rendering engine of Google Chrome prior to version 146.0.7680.153, allowing remote attackers to trigger heap corruption and potentially execute arbitrary code by serving a specially crafted HTML page. The vulnerability affects Chrome across multiple platforms with Debian reporting 9 releases impacted. Although no CVSS score or EPSS data is provided, the Chromium security team rated this as High severity, and patch availability from the vendor indicates active remediation has been deployed.
RemediationAI
Immediately upgrade Google Chrome to version 146.0.7680.153 or later on all affected systems. The patch is available through Chrome's automatic update mechanism (Settings > About Google Chrome > Check for updates) and will be installed automatically upon browser restart. For enterprise environments using managed deployments, update Chromium via your OS package manager (apt/yum/brew) to the patched version. On Debian-based systems, update chromium-browser or google-chrome-stable packages to the latest available version addressing CVE-2026-4442. Ensure auto-update policies are enabled to mitigate future similar issues. Until patching is complete, isolate users from untrusted web content where possible, though this is impractical for general browsing—prioritize rapid patching instead. Reference the Chrome security update at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_18.html for release notes and rollout timelines.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is a heap buffer overflow (CWE-122) occurring in Chrome's CSS parsing and rendering subsystem. Heap buffer overflows occur when a program writes data beyond the allocated boundaries of a heap-based buffer, potentially corrupting adjacent memory structures including heap metadata, function pointers, or other object data. In the context of CSS rendering, the overflow likely originates from improper bounds checking when processing malformed or adversarially crafted CSS properties, selectors, or values. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow), indicating memory corruption at the heap level rather than the stack. Chrome's rendering engine processes untrusted CSS from remote web pages, making this a natural attack surface for heap corruption exploitation.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Heap buffer overflow in CSS in Google Chrome prior to 146.0.7680.153 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
Executive ViewAI
Organizations using CSS in Google Chrome face significant risk from CVE-2026-4442, a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability rated CVSS 8.8. Exploitation could allow attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or potentially execute arbitrary code. A patch is available and should be applied as part of regular vulnerability management.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
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Same weakness CWE-122 – Heap-based Buffer Overflow
View allSame technique Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
Ubuntu
Priority: Medium| Release | Status | Version |
|---|---|---|
| jammy | not-affected | code not present |
| noble | not-affected | code not present |
| questing | not-affected | code not present |
| upstream | released | - |
Debian
| Release | Status | Fixed Version | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| bullseye (security), bullseye | vulnerable | 120.0.6099.224-1~deb11u1 | - |
| bookworm | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1~deb12u1 | - |
| bookworm (security) | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1~deb12u1 | - |
| trixie | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1~deb13u1 | - |
| trixie (security) | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1~deb13u1 | - |
| forky | vulnerable | 146.0.7680.80-1 | - |
| sid | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1 | - |
| bullseye | fixed | (unfixed) | end-of-life |
| (unstable) | fixed | 146.0.7680.153-1 | - |
SUSE
Severity: High| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP6 | Fixed |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Fixed |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Fixed |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP6 | Fixed |
EUVD-2026-13451
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB