CVE-2026-5281 Google Dawn Use-After-Free

What is CVE-2026-5281?

CVE-2026-5281 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Google Chrome, published on 1 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 146.0.7680.178 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-5281?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Google Chrome.

How do I fix CVE-2026-5281?

Upgrade to a fixed version. US federal agencies must fix it by 15 Apr 2026.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2026-5281 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2026-5281 in the wild since at least 1 Apr 2026.

Public exploit code: 4 proofs of concept on GitHub.

Other vulnerabilities in Google Chrome

• CVE-2022-4135 Google Chromium GPU Heap Buffer Overflow Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2020-16017 Google Chrome Use-After-Free Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2020-16010 Google Chrome for Android UI Heap Buffer Overflow Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2026-87491 Google Chromium V8 Out of Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2026-85046 Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion Exploited High 8.8

All Google Chrome vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-5281, GHSA-xf76-839h-pfpm, MINI-3j4m-hj42-j99f.