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Google Chrome EUVDEUVD-2026-82481

| CVE-2026-93381 HIGH
Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)
2026-09-17 chrome-cve-admin@google.com GHSA-xjgp-95jm-jggm
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: google
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Deliver crafted PDF via phishing
  2. Delivery
    Victim opens PDF in Chrome
  3. Exploit
    Trigger PDFium heap buffer overflow
  4. Execution
    Execute arbitrary code inside renderer sandbox
  5. Impact
    Chain separate escape for host compromise

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
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

Exploitation requires a victim running Google Chrome on Windows prior to 153.0.8010.52 to open an attacker-crafted PDF (UI:R social engineering) so that PDFium parses the malicious document and triggers the heap overflow. Key limiting factors: mandatory user interaction to open the crafted PDF, and - critically - the resulting code execution is confined to the Chrome renderer sandbox, meaning host compromise additionally requires a separate sandbox-escape vulnerability not covered here. No authentication is required (PR:N), and default Chrome configurations render PDFs, so no special feature toggle is needed beyond opening the file.

Impact

The vendor CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), reflecting a network-reachable, low-complexity heap buffer overflow (CWE-122) in PDFium requiring only user interaction. However, the description explicitly states code execution occurs INSIDE the Chrome sandbox (S:U, no scope change), so full host compromise requires an additional, separate sandbox-escape vulnerability that this CVE does not provide - materially lowering real-world impact versus the raw 8.8. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code are present in the provided data, so exploitation status is: no public exploit identified at time of analysis. UI:R (social engineering to open a crafted PDF) further gates exploitation and argues against automatable, wormable mass exploitation. Net: a genuine High-severity renderer memory-corruption bug in an ubiquitous product, but one trending toward the lower end of High for practical risk absent a chained escape and given no evidence of active exploitation. Note the input Tags include 'Microsoft', which is incorrect - the affected product is Google Chrome (Windows is merely the platform).

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious PDF that triggers the PDFium heap buffer overflow and uses social engineering (e.g., a phishing link or email attachment) to convince a victim to open it in Chrome on Windows. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution confined to the renderer sandbox; the attacker would then need a separate sandbox-escape bug to reach the host. No public proof-of-concept or exploit code is identified in the available data.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026

Heap buffer overflow in PDFium, the PDF rendering engine built into Google Chrome, allows a remote attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code inside the Chrome renderer sandbox on Windows systems running versions prior to 153.0.8010.52. Exploitation requires the victim to open an attacker-supplied crafted PDF (UI:R), so the attack is delivered via social engineering rather than direct network exploitation; no credentials are needed (PR:N) and default Chrome installations render PDFs without any special configuration. The vendor rates this High severity with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), and although a vendor patch is available, no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and there is no confirmed active exploitation (not in CISA KEV). Because code execution is confined to the renderer sandbox, full host compromise would additionally require a separate sandbox-escape vulnerability not covered by this advisory.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Google Chrome 153.0.8010.52 for Windows - upgrade to this version or later; users should trigger the update from chrome://settings/help (or chrome://version to confirm the running build) and fully restart the browser, since Chrome installs but does not apply updates until all browser processes exit. Enterprise fleets should push the forced update through Chrome Browser Cloud Management, Microsoft Intune, or their patch-management tooling that handles the Google Chrome MSI/enterprise installer, verifying that the reported version equals or exceeds 153.0.8010.52 on Windows endpoints; the Windows-focused advisory references and Microsoft tagging make Windows-specific verification important since Linux and macOS builds are outside the stated scope. If immediate patching is impossible, compensating controls have real trade-offs: configure Chrome policies to force PDFs to download rather than render inline (or direct users to open PDFs in an offline/alternate hardened viewer), which reduces exposure to the vulnerable PDFium parsing path but degrades the built-in viewer experience and can be bypassed if a user manually opens the file in Chrome; block or quarantine untrusted PDF attachments at the mail gateway and web proxy, which limits delivery but not all vectors; and strictly avoid launching Chrome with --no-sandbox or otherwise weakening the renderer sandbox, as the sandbox is the key control that confines this bug and removing it converts a sandboxed renderer compromise into host compromise. Note that modern Chrome provides no supported switch to fully disable the built-in PDF viewer, so download-and-external-open workflows are the practical interim mitigation. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and no active exploitation is confirmed, so patching within the normal enterprise cycle (with priority for internet-exposed or high-value users) is appropriate, but the availability of full technical detail once the Chromium issue is unembargoed should be monitored.

Affected VersionsENISA

Chrome 153.0.8010.52 <153.0.8010.52

Affected Packages

euvd chrome fix: 153.0.8010.52

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

PDFium is the open-source C++ PDF library that powers Chrome's built-in PDF viewer and is compiled into the browser on Windows; it parses untrusted PDF documents including content streams, embedded fonts, images, and object structures. This issue is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122), meaning a length or bounds calculation on a heap-allocated buffer is not validated against the actual data size, so parsing a malformed PDF can write past the end of an allocated region and corrupt adjacent heap memory - a classic memory-corruption primitive that can be shaped into controlled code execution, particularly as PDFium historically lacks memory-safe language guarantees. Chrome's defense-in-depth mitigations (renderer process sandbox, ASLR, and control-flow integrity where enabled) constrain the immediate impact: the overflow occurs in the renderer, so an attacker achieving reliable exploitation still has to bypass the sandbox to reach the host, which is why the assessed scope is Unchanged and the confidentiality/integrity/availability impacts reflect renderer-process compromise rather than guaranteed OS-level takeover. The affected component is the Chromium/PDFium engine shipped with Chrome on Windows; the Chromium issue tracker entry (issues.chromium.org/issues/556853443) is referenced in the advisory and typically remains access-restricted until most users have been updated.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (google) PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.8 HIGH

Network-delivered crafted PDF (AV:N/AC:L), no auth (PR:N) but requires opening the file (UI:R); high renderer impact but sandbox-confined so no scope change (S:U).

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

Primary rating from Vendor (google).

CVSS VectorVendor: google

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

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Sep 18, 2026 - 14:22 NVD
8.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 17, 2026 - 22:04 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 21:17 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 21:17 cve.org
HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Buffer overflow in PDFium in Google Chrome on on Windows prior to 153.0.8010.52 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to potentially execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted PDF file. (Chromium security severity: High)

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Google Chrome on Windows is affected by a high-severity security flaw in its PDF rendering component, PDFium, which could allow an attacker to run malicious code inside the browser's renderer sandbox if a user opens a specially crafted PDF. The issue is unauthenticated (PR:N) but requires user interaction (UI:R), so delivery depends on social engineering rather than direct network exploitation, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Leadership should care because Chrome is widely deployed and PDFs are a routine business workflow, meaning unpatched endpoints could lead to unauthorized code execution in the browser context, with potential data exposure or further compromise if chained with a separate sandbox-escape flaw.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 81% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Google Chrome is one of the most widely deployed desktop browsers
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
7 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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

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

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