CVE-2025-34092: 
Google Chrome vulnerability analysis and mitigation

A cookie encryption bypass vulnerability exists in Google Chrome's AppBound mechanism due to weak path validation logic within the elevation service. When Chrome encrypts a cookie key, it records its own executable path as validation metadata. Later, when decrypting, the elevation service compares the requesting process's path to this stored path. However, due to path canonicalization inconsistencies, an attacker can impersonate Chrome (e.g., by naming their binary chrome.exe and placing it in a similar path) and successfully retrieve the encrypted cookie key. This allows malicious processes to retrieve cookies intended to be restricted to the Chrome process only. The vulnerability was discovered in July 2025 and affects Google Chrome with AppBound Encryption enabled, as well as potentially other Chromium-based browsers that implement similar COM-based encryption mechanisms (VulnCheck Advisory, CyberArk Research).

The vulnerability exploits a flaw in Chrome's AppBound cookie encryption mechanism which uses a SYSTEM-level elevation service for cookie key encryption and decryption. The elevation service validates the requesting process by comparing paths, but due to inconsistent path canonicalization, this validation can be bypassed. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v4.0 score of 9.3 CRITICAL with vector CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H (VulnCheck Advisory).

The vulnerability allows malicious processes running with low privileges to bypass Chrome's cookie encryption protection mechanism. This enables attackers to retrieve encrypted cookies that should only be accessible to the Chrome browser process, potentially leading to unauthorized access to user sessions and sensitive web applications (CyberArk Research).

Google has acknowledged the vulnerability and is working on implementing fixes. A partial solution has been added to Chrome but is currently disabled by default. A complete fix is planned for a future release. Users are advised to monitor for updates and apply them when available (CyberArk Research).

The vulnerability was discovered by Ari Novick of CyberArk Labs and responsibly disclosed to Google. The discovery highlights the challenges in implementing secure cookie protection mechanisms and the potential risks of complex security features (CyberArk Research).