What is CVE-2026-78985?

CVE-2026-78985 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Google Chrome, classified under Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference. CVSS score: 9.6/10. Published 2026-08-25.

How severe is CVE-2026-78985?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.6 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Google Chrome

CVE-2026-78985

Incorrect reference resolution in FileSystem in Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.65 allowed a remote attacker leveraging social engineering to potentially execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)

Published 2026-08-25 · last modified 2026-08-27.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.6 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (41.2th percentile), scored 2026-10-10.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 41st percentile — 41.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.005 · change: -0.001

Affected products

Google Chrome

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-706 — Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference

References

chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0256176… (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
issues.chromium.org/issues/500038021 (Permissions Required)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-78985?: CVE-2026-78985 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Google Chrome, classified under Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference. CVSS score: 9.6/10. Published 2026-08-25.
How severe is CVE-2026-78985?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.6 out of 10.