High

Use-after-free in Dawn in Google Chrome

IdentifiersCVE-2026-4676CWE-416· Use After Free

CVE-2026-4676 is a high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in Dawn, Chromium's WebGPU implementation layer, affecting Google Chrome prior to version 146.0.7680.165. The available reporting states that a remote attacker could potentially trigger the flaw via a crafted HTML page. Publicly available technical details are limited, but the bug is described as a memory-safety error in Dawn where freed memory may be accessed after release, creating the possibility of memory corruption during browser processing of attacker-controlled web content. Google/Chromium classified the issue as High severity and associated it with potential sandbox escape.

For your environment

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation could allow a remote attacker to potentially achieve a sandbox escape from Chrome via malicious web content. The provided CVSS v3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates possible high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. More specific post-exploitation details are not publicly available in the provided content.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patching is completed, reduce exposure by limiting use of untrusted websites and attacker-controlled HTML content, prioritizing rapid browser restarts so downloaded updates take effect, and ensuring enterprise update controls are not delaying Chrome security updates. Standard browser hardening and exploit-surface reduction measures may help, but no vulnerability-specific mitigation beyond updating is provided in the available content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Update Google Chrome to version 146.0.7680.165 or later. The provided content indicates the issue was fixed in Chrome 146.0.7680.164/165 for Windows and macOS and 146.0.7680.164 for Linux as part of the March 2026 security update rollout; the CVE description specifically states affected versions are prior to 146.0.7680.165. Apply the corresponding patched release from the vendor for any Chromium-based downstream browser once available.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

GoogleChromeapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

15 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

15 SOURCESView more in app

help net securityNews

Apr 1, 2026

Google fixes Chrome zero-day with in-the-wild exploit (CVE-2026-5281) - Help Net Security

A use-after-free vulnerability in Dawn previously fixed in Chrome.

darkwebinformerNews

Apr 1, 2026

Chrome Zero-Day CVE-2026-5281: A Use-After-Free in Dawn's WebGPU Layer

A separate use-after-free vulnerability in Dawn referenced as another recently patched Chrome graphics-stack flaw.

techrepublic com securityNews

Mar 27, 2026

Google Issues High-Risk Security Patch for 3.5 Billion Chrome Users

A high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in Dawn, part of Chrome's WebGPU implementation.

cyber security newsNews

Mar 24, 2026

Chrome Security Update Fixes 8 Vulnerabilities Allowing Remote Code Execution

A high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in Chrome's Dawn component.

+2 more in the timeline

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

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Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity7

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.

EXTERNAL REFERENCES

MITRE CVE

cve.org · CVE-2026-4676

NVD

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-4676

MITRE CWE · CWE-416

Use After Free

Vendor Advisory

chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/03/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_23.html

Permissions Required

issues.chromium.org/issues/488613135