Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (Chrome).
CVSS VectorVendor: Chrome
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in WebAppInstalls in Google Chrome on Mac prior to 148.0.7778.216 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
AnalysisAI
Remote code execution in Google Chrome on macOS prior to 148.0.7778.216 stems from a use-after-free condition in the WebAppInstalls component, enabling a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code in the renderer context when a victim is lured to a malicious page and performs specific UI gestures. Chromium rates the severity as High, and while no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the bug class (UAF) is historically a favored target for Chrome exploit chains. The high attack complexity and required user interaction lower the practical exploitability compared to one-click bugs.
Technical ContextAI
The flaw resides in WebAppInstalls, the Chromium subsystem that handles Progressive Web App (PWA) installation prompts and lifecycle on the desktop. The root cause is CWE-416 (Use After Free): an object reference is retained and dereferenced after its backing memory has been freed, typically due to incorrect lifetime management during asynchronous UI events. On macOS this corresponds to cpe:2.3:a:google:chrome built against the platform's renderer/browser process model, where successful exploitation usually yields code execution inside the sandboxed renderer and would normally need to be paired with a sandbox escape to achieve full system compromise.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: 148.0.7778.216 - upgrade Chrome on macOS to 148.0.7778.216 or later via the Stable channel auto-updater or managed deployment (MDM/Jamf/Intune) and force a browser restart so the new binary loads. Verify via chrome://settings/help and consult the Chrome Releases advisory at https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0877304591.html and the Chromium issue tracker https://issues.chromium.org/issues/513750089. If patching is delayed, compensating controls include disabling Progressive Web App installation via the WebAppInstallForceList / DefaultWebAppInstallationEnabled enterprise policies to reduce exposure of the WebAppInstalls code path (trade-off: breaks PWA install workflows for users), and restricting browsing to trusted sites via SafeSites/URL allowlists; these mitigate but do not eliminate the UAF since the vulnerable code may still be reachable.
Same weakness CWE-416 – Use After Free
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: HighShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-33147
GHSA-p5p5-xjxr-p523