Your browser is a frontline safety boundary. And proper now, Google is racing to bolster it.
On Feb. 23, Google launched a safety replace for its Chrome browser that addresses three high-severity vulnerabilities, which might pose a major threat to customers.
One of many vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-3061, permits “… a distant attacker to carry out an out-of-bounds reminiscence learn through a crafted HTML web page,” NIST mentioned in its advisory.
Contained in the Chrome vulnerabilities
The safety replace addresses three high-severity vulnerabilities — CVE-2026-3061, CVE-2026-3062, and CVE-2026-3063 — spanning Chrome’s Media part, the Tint WebGPU shader compiler, and Chrome DevTools.
Two of the three flaws contain out-of-bounds reminiscence entry, a vulnerability class generally related to distant code execution (RCE), reminiscence disclosure, and sandbox escape chains when paired with extra weaknesses.
CVE-2026-3061
CVE-2026-3061 is an out-of-bounds learn vulnerability in Chrome’s Media part.
Out-of-bounds reads happen when software program accesses reminiscence outdoors the supposed buffer, probably exposing delicate information or destabilizing the appliance. In a browser context, media processing is ceaselessly uncovered to untrusted enter delivered by means of internet pages, ads, or embedded content material.
An attacker might craft malicious media information designed to set off the flaw when rendered by the browser, creating the potential for drive-by exploitation — the place a person is compromised just by visiting a malicious or compromised web site.
Whereas an out-of-bounds learn alone doesn’t routinely grant code execution, it could leak reminiscence contents or function a constructing block inside a broader exploit chain.
CVE-2026-3062
This vulnerability impacts Tint, Chrome’s WebGPU shader compiler, and includes each out-of-bounds learn and out-of-bounds write situations.
Out-of-bounds writes can result in reminiscence corruption, probably permitting attackers to govern program management movement. In sensible phrases, profitable exploitation might allow arbitrary code execution inside the browser’s renderer course of.
As WebGPU adoption will increase to assist high-performance graphics, AI workloads, and superior browser-based functions, parts like Tint develop Chrome’s assault floor.
Graphics and shader compilers course of advanced directions, and vulnerabilities in these pipelines may give attackers a strong foothold inside the browser sandbox.
CVE-2026-3063
The third vulnerability, CVE-2026-3063, includes an inappropriate implementation in Chrome DevTools.
Though implementation flaws in developer tooling could not carry the identical quick influence as reminiscence corruption bugs, they’ll nonetheless introduce safety dangers. Underneath sure situations, these weaknesses might allow cross-origin information publicity, misuse of privileges, or bypasses of browser-enforced safety controls.
On condition that DevTools interacts carefully with web page content material and debugging interfaces, improper boundary enforcement can undermine core browser safety assumptions.
On the time of publication, Google has not indicated that any of the three vulnerabilities are being actively exploited within the wild.
How you can scale back browser safety threat
Trendy browsers perform as full-featured utility platforms, which suggests they’ll current a significant threat if vulnerabilities are left unaddressed.
The next steps present measures safety groups can take to strengthen protections towards browser-based threats:
- Patch to the most recent model of Chrome and confirm that the updates had been profitable.
- Harden browser configurations by means of enterprise insurance policies by disabling pointless options (e.g., WebGPU the place not required), limiting DevTools entry, and imposing extension allowlisting.
- Monitor EDR and endpoint telemetry for uncommon browser habits, together with irregular baby processes, renderer crashes, suspicious DLL hundreds, or sudden GPU exercise.
- Implement least privilege by eradicating native administrator rights, implementing just-in-time elevation, and limiting privileged entry to hardened workstations.
- Strengthen community defenses with DNS filtering, safe internet gateways, outbound site visitors monitoring, and egress controls to disrupt command-and-control exercise.
- Use segmentation and, the place applicable, distant browser isolation to scale back the blast radius of potential browser-based compromise.
- Recurrently take a look at and replace incident response plans and construct playbooks round browser exploitation makes an attempt.
Collectively, these measures assist restrict blast radius and construct resilience towards browser-based threats.
Editor’s word: This text initially appeared on our sister web site, eSecurityPlanet.
