CriticalCVE-2026-85046

    Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion Vulnerability (CVE-2026-85046)

    Published Last modified In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org, Palo Alto Networks, Msrc Update Guide, pwn.watch, Debian LTS, Debian, BSI

    What is affected, what to do

    Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.82 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Conflicting version data — version display is hidden until the data is resolved.

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    8.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, Palo Alto Networks, Msrc Update Guide, pwn.watch, Debian LTS, Debian, BSI

    1.8 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 78.4

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    248.34 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: VulnCheck KEV (opens in a new tab) How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    1.8 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    78.4
    High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-843

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    V8 type-confusion bugs are a staple entry point for drive-by and watering-hole attacks. A single visit to a crafted page or a malicious ad is enough, with no authentication and only minimal user interaction. Attackers routinely chain them with a sandbox escape or kernel bug to fully compromise the host. Typical targets are people with privileged access, executives, journalists, and staff in public administration and critical infrastructure. Exploitation likelihood is very high, though CISA has not flagged ransomware use. Because Chromium browsers run on essentially every endpoint, treat remediation as critical, to be completed within 24-48 hours, starting with exposed roles and hosts that can reach OT or administrative networks.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Update Google Chrome to 152.0.7977.82 or later. Every earlier version is vulnerable. Push the update via Google Update or your deployment tooling (Intune, SCCM, Jamf) and force a browser relaunch: set RelaunchNotification = 2 (Required) and keep RelaunchNotificationPeriod short, e.g. 3600000 ms. The vulnerable process keeps running until the browser restarts.
      • Find and patch other Chromium-based browsers. Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others may be affected. Patches are available from each vendor — look up the fixed version in the vendor advisory, e.g. Microsoft Edge security release notes. Update Edge via the UpdateDefault policy or WSUS/Intune.
      • Build a version inventory. Use EDR or asset management to list every endpoint running chrome.exe below 152.0.7977.82, plus outdated Edge and Opera builds. Patch high-value seats first: admins, finance, OT engineering workstations and jump hosts.
      • Track embedded V8/Chromium runtimes. This covers Electron apps, CEF-based kiosk and HMI clients, and headless Chrome on build or scraping servers. These ship their own V8 builds (affected: V8 15.3.48, among others). Follow vendor updates for each one separately.
      • Contain systems you cannot update. For legacy images and kiosks, block internet browsing until patched, or restrict them to an allowlist of internal destinations.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Endpoint hardening (disable JIT): Set the Chrome policy DefaultJavaScriptJitSetting = 2 (block JIT), with JavaScriptJitAllowedForSites exceptions for internal business apps. In Edge, set EnhanceSecurityMode to "Strict". Most V8 type-confusion exploits target the JIT compiler. This cuts the risk significantly but is not a complete fix.
      • Keep sandbox and isolation intact: Enforce SitePerProcess = 1. Audit shortcuts, GPOs and kiosk configs for --no-sandbox or --disable-site-isolation-trials. On its own, this bug only gives code execution inside the sandbox. Attackers typically chain it with a sandbox escape.
      • Network / web proxy: Block newly registered, uncategorised and parked domains at the secure web gateway. Use remote browser isolation for high-risk users. Enable malvertising categories and apply TLS inspection to uncategorised destinations.
      • Segmentation: Prohibit general browsing from admin, OT and jump hosts. Enforce this with proxy egress rules or firewall policy that only permits defined destinations from admin VLANs.
      • IAM / least privilege: Never run browsers with local admin rights. Limit post-compromise token theft with device-bound Conditional Access and short session lifetimes.
      • Extensions: Use ExtensionInstallAllowlist to permit only vetted extensions, removing extra attack and persistence paths.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • EDR / Sysmon EID 1 — suspicious browser child processes: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFileName in~ ("chrome.exe","msedge.exe","opera.exe") and FileName in~ ("cmd.exe","powershell.exe","pwsh.exe","wscript.exe","cscript.exe","mshta.exe","rundll32.exe","regsvr32.exe"). A hit suggests a successful sandbox escape — escalate immediately.
      • Renderer crash clusters: Windows Event ID 1000/1001 (Application Error / WER) with chrome.exe or msedge.exe as the faulting application, correlated with processes launched with --type=renderer. Repeated crashes on one host in a short window, followed by new network connections, point to exploit attempts.
      • Browser dropping executables (Sysmon EID 11): The browser writes .exe, .dll, .ps1 or .hta files outside the normal Downloads folder, e.g. to %TEMP%, %APPDATA% or C:\ProgramData. Sigma shape: Image|endswith: '\chrome.exe' AND TargetFilename|endswith: ('.exe','.dll') AND NOT TargetFilename|contains: '\Downloads\'.
      • Proxy and network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): First-seen connections to young or low-reputation domains, quickly followed by renderer crashes or new outbound connections to IPs with no DNS resolution. Correlate Zeek http.log/ssl.log with WHOIS or domain-age enrichment.
      • Compliance detection: Run a daily SIEM query on browser versions (e.g. DeviceTvmSoftwareInventory | where SoftwareName has "chrome" and SoftwareVersion < "152.0.7977.82"). Any remaining host opens a ticket.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.82 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

    Source: NVD (NIST), CISA KEV Catalog, paloalto_rss, Microsoft Security Update Guide, pwn.watch, Debian LTS Advisories, cvelistv5, Debian Security Advisories, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    GoogleChrome
    • < 152.0.7977.82
    • < 152.0.7977.83
    • < 152.0.7977.82
    • 152.0.7977.82
    • 152.0.7977.83
    • 152.0.7977.82
    googlechrome
    • < 152.0.7977.82
    • 152.0.7977.82
    googlev8
    • < 15.3.48
    • 15.3.48

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianchromiumbookworm
    Linuxdebianchromiumtrixie

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-843Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')

      Base

      The product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompatible with the original type.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-843

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-85046 (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-85046 (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-85046 (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-85046-Patch-confusion-zero-day-vulnerability-in-Google-Chrome-s-V8-engine (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Reanalysis by NVDNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:v8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 15.3.348
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:v8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 15.3.48

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    2. Reanalysis by NVDNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:v8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 5.3.348
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:v8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 15.3.348

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    3. NVD analysis modifiedNVD

      Newly listed as affected:
      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationadded
      —
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:v8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 5.3.348
      Reference typeadded
      —
      CVE: https://github.com/Serotav/Writeups/blob/77556c57999805fa7815a114da51d91cf24fbea9/v8/When_Sorting_Leads_To_Confusion.md Types: Exploit, Third Party Advisory
      Reference typeadded
      —
      CVE: https://github.com/v8/v8/commit/e0562d87ad9c17042b581582c99237d798572e67 Types: Patch
      Reference typeadded
      —
      CVE: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49570669 Types: Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
      Reference typeadded
      —
      CVE: https://serotav.github.io/Writeups/v8/when-sorting-leads-to-confusion/ Types: Exploit, Third Party Advisory

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    4. Record modifiedCVE Program

      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/Serotav/Writeups/blob/77556c57999805fa7815a114da51d91cf24fbea9/v8/When_Sorting_Leads_To_Confusion.md
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/v8/v8/commit/e0562d87ad9c17042b581582c99237d798572e67
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49570669
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://serotav.github.io/Writeups/v8/when-sorting-leads-to-confusion/

      Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    5. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: active, automatable: no

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentchanged
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-04T17:11:12.511485Z"}
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Show 6 older changes

    1. Initial analysis by NVDNVD

      Newly listed as affected:
      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationadded
      —
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:chrome:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 152.0.7977.82
      Reference typeadded
      —
      Chrome: https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_01882797386.html Types: Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
      Reference typeadded
      —
      Chrome: https://issues.chromium.org/issues/542403045 Types: Permissions Required
      Reference typeadded
      —
      CISA-ADP: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-85046 Types: US Government Resource

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    2. CISA KEV entry updated9119a7d8…

      4 individual changes: Date Added, Due Date, Required Action, Vulnerability Name

      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Date Addedadded
      —
      2026-09-04
      Due Dateadded
      —
      2026-09-04
      Required Actionadded
      —
      2026-09-04
      Vulnerability Nameadded
      —
      2026-09-04

      Source identifier: 9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725

    3. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: active, automatable: no

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-85046
      SSVC assessmentchanged
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00"}
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-04T17:11:12.511485Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    4. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentchanged
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-03T19:43:45.512709Z"}
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    5. ReceivedGoogle Chrome

      Weakness type: CWE-843

      Description added or changed

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.82 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-843
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/85xxx/CVE-2026-85046.json">CVE-2026-85046</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_01882797386.html
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://issues.chromium.org/issues/542403045

      Source identifier: chrome-cve-admin@google.com

    6. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2026-85046","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-09-03T19:43:45.512709Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Linked advisories

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