On October 13, 2026, XBOW described a Chrome exploit chain its researchers built with help from OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol. The work ran from August 2 to 7, XBOW says, and its controlled demonstration used a webpage in signed Chrome Beta to launch Windows Calculator. XBOW’s technical account traces the result to three linked flaws in Chrome components.

How the three reported flaws linked together

XBOW’s account describes a sequence that crossed from Chrome’s JavaScript engine to code execution in a Windows crash-reporting process:

  • V8 Maglev: A flaw in the compiler’s handling of JavaScript objects gave the code read-and-write access across V8’s pointer-compression cage, a region of memory used by the engine.
  • Blink and animated WebP: A flaw in image decoding enabled a chosen native write outside that V8 memory region.
  • Crashpad: A Windows process-memory flaw in the crash handler enabled code execution in Crashpad, which XBOW describes as unsandboxed.

Each stage supplied a capability the next one could use. In the proof of concept, the chain ended with a webpage launching Windows Calculator. XBOW describes a controlled demonstration, rather than an attack on Chrome users.

Researchers directed GPT-5.6 Sol

XBOW says the model and its predecessors searched Chrome’s source code, tested hypotheses, built proofs of concept and developed exploit stages. Researchers chose targets, supplied context, reviewed and redirected the work, and decided which components to combine. The outcome was a joint research effort, not a chain assembled by the model without human direction. XBOW’s announcement also describes an earlier attempt that the team replaced after Google told them one component was already known; modular stages and alternatives helped them build the awarded chain.

XBOW estimates that the six-day effort cost about $40,000 in API charges. It also says Google awarded the team $250,000 for the full-chain finding.

XBOW’s update advice

XBOW says Google fixed the three bugs in the awarded chain and recommends installing Chrome updates and relaunching the browser so an update takes effect.