CVE-2026-5281

Google Dawn: Use-After-Free

As of , CVE-2026-5281 in Google Dawn is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch soon.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 1 April 2026
US federal deadline
15 April 202614 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.01Higher than 51% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
Public exploit
None foundNeither Metasploit nor Exploit-DB lists one.
Fix
Vendor advice: chromereleases.googleblog.comLinks below, from CISA's entry.

What CISA says to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

CISA's required action

  • chromereleases.googleblog.comThis vulnerability affects an open-source component, third-party library, protocol, or proprietary implementation that could be used by…

What the flaw is

Google Dawn contains an use-after-free vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page. This vulnerability could affect multiple Chromium-based products including, but not limited to, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

CISA's 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)

The CVE record's description, from Chrome

CVE published
1 April 2026
Assigned by
Chrome
CVSS
8.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
CWE-416
Use After Free
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
no
CISA SSVC, technical impact
total

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  3. The US federal deadline to fix it.

Read further