CVE-2026-11213: Insufficient validation of untrusted input in Reading Mode in Google Chrome prior to 149

Synopsis

This is an insufficient input validation vulnerability in the Reading Mode feature of Google Chrome prior to version 149.0.7827.53. It is reachable over the network with no authentication required, but does require a victim to interact with a crafted HTML page, and also assumes the attacker has already compromised the renderer process. Successful exploitation enables a sandbox escape, granting the attacker capabilities outside the Chrome sandbox including full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host. A patched-image rebuild at version 149.0.7827.53 is available on HarborGuard for affected environments.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityRequired

  The attacker delivers the crafted HTML page over the network, so the vulnerable Chrome instance must be reachable or navigable to an attacker-controlled resource.

• AuthenticationNot required

  No account or credential is needed; the attack is launched from an unauthenticated position against any user who visits the crafted page.

• Victim interactionRequired

  The victim must open or navigate to a crafted HTML page, making this a social-engineering or drive-by delivery scenario.

• Attack complexityDetail

  Exploit complexity is low once the renderer process is already compromised, meaning no race conditions or special memory-layout conditions are required for the sandbox escape step itself; however, the prerequisite renderer compromise is an additional barrier not captured in the AC token.

Blast Radius

• A successful sandbox escape lets the attacker execute code outside the Chrome sandbox with the privileges of the browser process, reading files and credentials accessible to the logged-in user.
• The attacker gains the ability to write or modify files on the host filesystem and tamper with persistent user data.
• Full availability impact means the attacker can crash or terminate the browser process and any dependent services.
• With a foothold outside the sandbox, the attacker can pivot to other processes or network resources accessible from the host.