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Google Chrome EUVDEUVD-2026-66047

| CVE-2026-79090 CRITICAL
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2026-08-25 Chrome GHSA-76vf-r5wf-8fcx
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Chrome
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Host crafted HTML page
  2. Exploit
    Social-engineer user to visit
  3. Execution
    Trigger Actor privilege-management flaw
  4. Impact
    Bypass system access restrictions

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the victim to be running a Chrome build older than 152.0.7977.65 AND to be social-engineered into loading an attacker-crafted HTML page - the description explicitly cites 'social engineering' and a 'crafted HTML page,' so successful user interaction (navigating to the page) is a hard prerequisite. Limiting factors: the attack is not automatic or drive-by-guaranteed because it depends on human action, Chromium rates the impact as Low, and there is no authentication bypass of a server - the target is the local browser trust boundary. This meaningfully constrains real-world risk despite the 9.8 CVSS number, whose UI:N metric appears inconsistent with the interaction-dependent description.

Impact

The signals conflict materially and should be reconciled before prioritization. The provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, C:H/I:H/A:H = 9.8) implies unauthenticated, no-interaction, total compromise - but the description explicitly requires 'social engineering' and a 'crafted HTML page' (i.e., user interaction), and Chromium itself labels the issue 'Low' severity. This strongly suggests the 9.8 is an inflated/auto-generated score and UI:N is incorrect; realistic risk is far lower. Supporting that: EPSS is only 0.21% (11th percentile), SSVC shows Exploitation=none, and there is no KEV listing or POC. Countervailing factors are that SSVC marks it Automatable=yes with Technical Impact=total, and Chrome's enormous install base means even a low-probability bug warrants routine patching - an ordinary mid-sized IT operator should still deploy the update on its normal Chrome cadence, but this does not warrant emergency out-of-band response. Bottom line: treat as a standard-priority browser update, not a critical drop-everything item, and verify the true impact against the vendor advisory given the CVSS-vs-vendor-severity mismatch.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious HTML page and lures a Chrome user (via phishing link, malvertising, or a compromised site) into opening it; when rendered, the page abuses the Actor privilege-management flaw to perform an action outside the restrictions normally imposed on web content. No public exploit code is identified, and success depends on the victim actively visiting the attacker-controlled page.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 26, 2026

Privilege-management weakness in Google Chrome's Actor component (versions prior to 152.0.7977.65) lets a remote attacker who successfully socially-engineers a user into loading a crafted HTML page bypass system access restrictions. Chromium rates the underlying severity as Low, and no public exploit or active exploitation has been identified; EPSS is 0.21% (11th percentile). Note a sharp signal conflict: the NVD-style CVSS base score is 9.8 (critical) while the vendor's own severity rating is Low and the description requires user interaction.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: 152.0.7977.65 - upgrade Google Chrome to 152.0.7977.65 or later on all desktop platforms via the Chrome Releases advisory (https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0256176589.html); in most enterprises this arrives through Chrome's automatic update channel, so ensure auto-update is enabled and force a browser relaunch to apply it. Where immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure to the social-engineering delivery path by enforcing Safe Browsing (Enhanced protection) via policy, restricting users from visiting untrusted sites, and applying enterprise URL/category filtering; these controls lower the odds a user reaches a crafted page but do not eliminate the underlying flaw, so patching remains the only complete fix. No separate configuration workaround is published by the vendor.

Affected VersionsENISA

Chrome 152.0.7977.65 <152.0.7977.65

Affected Packages

euvd chrome fix: 152.0.7977.65

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

The flaw is classed as CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) in Chrome's 'Actor' subsystem. Chrome's multi-process architecture enforces access boundaries between web content, the browser process, and the host OS; an improper privilege-management defect in this layer means an operation is performed with more authority than the untrusted web content should have, allowing normally-blocked 'system access restrictions' to be circumvented. Because delivery is a crafted HTML page rendered by the browser, the affected surface is the renderer/browser trust boundary rather than a network service. The only CPE provided is cpe:2.3:a:google:chrome:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* (all versions below the fix).

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Severity by source

Vendor (Chrome) PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.4 MEDIUM

Social engineering to load a crafted page makes UI:R mandatory; the vendor 'Low' severity and access-restriction bypass imply limited C/I and no availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE CRITICAL

Primary rating from Vendor (Chrome).

CVSS VectorVendor: Chrome

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
CVSS changed
Aug 26, 2026 - 20:23 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL)
CVE Published
Aug 25, 2026 - 20:10 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.8
CVE Published
Aug 25, 2026 - 20:10 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

Improper privilege management in Actor in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to bypass system access restrictions via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Google Chrome versions prior to 152.0.7977.65 contain a privilege-management vulnerability (CVE-2026-79090) that could allow attackers to escalate privileges if users are socially engineered to open malicious content; no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Real-world exploitation likelihood is very low (EPSS 0.2%), and a vendor patch is available for immediate deployment.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 89% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Chrome is the most widely deployed desktop browser worldwide
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
Low
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

49
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Critical
Product Status
SUSE Package Hub 15 SP7 Fixed
openSUSE Leap 16.0 Fixed
openSUSE Tumbleweed Fixed
SUSE Package Hub 15 SP7 Affected

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