● Low · CVSS 2.3

How to Fix CVE-2026-34764: Electron has a use-after-free in offscreen shared texture release() callback

Q: Is CVE-2026-34764 being actively exploited?

Not at the time of writing. It is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. That status can change, so monitor the vendor advisory and the KEV catalog if the system is exposed.

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-34764?

CVSS rates it 2.3 (Low). Use that score to set your patch priority alongside the other items in your queue.

Q: Do I have to take electron offline to apply the patch?

It depends on the deployment. High-availability or clustered installs can usually patch one node at a time with no full outage. Standalone installs typically need a short restart. Always follow the vendor's documented upgrade steps.

Q: What if my vulnerability scanner still flags CVE-2026-34764 after I patch?

Re-run the scan after a service restart, then confirm the scanner's plugin set is up to date. Some scanners detect by banner version only and lag the official fix metadata by a release.

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

Last verified: 2026-05-25

⚡ At a glance


Severity	CVSS 2.3, Low
Actively exploited?	No
Affected	electron (>= 33.0.0-alpha.1, < 39.8.5, >= 40.0.0-alpha.1, < 40.8.5, >= 41.0.0-alpha.1, < 41.1.0)
Fixed in	39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5
Type (CWE)	CWE-416: CWE-416: Use After Free

CVE-2026-34764 is a electron has a use-after-free in offscreen shared texture release() callback in electron. The fix is to upgrade to 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5 and apply the runnable commands below.

What is CVE-2026-34764?

Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. From 33.0.0-alpha.1 to before 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, and 42.0.0-alpha.5, apps that use offscreen rendering with GPU shared textures may be vulnerable to a use-after-free. Under certain conditions, the release() callback provided on a paint event texture can outlive its backing native state, and invoking it after that point dereferences freed memory in the main process, which may lead to a crash or memory corruption.

In practical terms, a successful attacker gets memory corruption that can lead to code execution or a crash. There is no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation listed in CISA's KEV catalog at the time of writing, but the CVSS rating still warrants prompt patching.

Am I affected?

You are affected if you run electron at a version listed in the Affected row above. Probe your installed build with the commands below.


# Confirm the installed version via your package manager
dpkg -l | grep -i electron   # Debian/Ubuntu
rpm -qa | grep -i electron   # RHEL/CentOS/Rocky

How to fix CVE-2026-34764

The primary fix is to upgrade to the patched build listed in the Fixed in row above (39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5). Pick the platform that matches your install and run the commands below.

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade electron
# Confirm the installed version meets or exceeds 39.8.5
dpkg -s electron | grep ^Version

Linux (RHEL / CentOS / Rocky)


sudo dnf upgrade --security electron -y
rpm -q electron

Windows (PowerShell, admin)


winget upgrade --id 'Electron.electron' --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
# If winget doesn't know the product, download the patched installer from the vendor and:
Start-Process -FilePath "$env:TEMP\electron-39.8.5.msi" -ArgumentList '/qn /norestart' -Wait

PowerShell script (Windows): detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


# Run as Administrator
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$log = "$env:ProgramData\electron-Patch-CVE-2026-34764.log"
function Write-Log($msg) { "$(Get-Date -Format s)  $msg" | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append }

Write-Log "Starting CVE-2026-34764 remediation for Electron electron"

# 1. Detect: replace the path/version probe with one valid for your install
$installed = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*electron*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
Write-Log "Detected version: $installed"

if (-not $installed) {
    Write-Log "Product not installed on this host; nothing to do."
    return
}
if ([version]$installed -ge [version]'39.8.5') {
    Write-Log "Already at fixed version $installed; no action needed."
    return
}

# 2. Backup configuration to a timestamped folder
$backup = "$env:ProgramData\electron-Backup-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmm)"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backup -Force | Out-Null
$src = "$env:ProgramFiles\Electron\electron"
if (Test-Path $src) { Copy-Item -Path $src -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force }
Write-Log "Backed up config to $backup"

# 3. Apply the patched installer
$installer = "$env:TEMP\electron-39.8.5.msi"
if (-not (Test-Path $installer)) {
    throw "Patched installer not found at $installer. Stage it from your software repo first."
}
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$installer`" /qn /norestart" -Wait
Write-Log "Installer finished"

# 4. Verify
$verify = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*electron*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
if ([version]$verify -ge [version]'39.8.5') {
    Write-Log "SUCCESS: now at $verify (>= 39.8.5)"
} else {
    Write-Log "FAILURE: still at $verify after install"
    exit 1
}

Bash script (Linux): detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
LOG=/var/log/electron-patch-cve-2026-34764.log
log()  { echo "$(date -Iseconds)  $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }

log "Starting CVE-2026-34764 remediation for Electron electron"

# 1. Detect installed version (works for deb and rpm packages)
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null && dpkg -s electron >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' electron)
    PKG_MGR=apt
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null && rpm -q electron >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' electron)
    PKG_MGR=dnf
else
    log "electron not installed via apt or rpm; check your package manager or vendor instructions."
    exit 0
fi
log "Detected: electron=$CURRENT (manager=$PKG_MGR)"

# 2. Backup config
BACKUP=/var/backups/electron-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/electron /etc/${pkg%%-*} ; do
    [ -d "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" && log "Backed up $d to $BACKUP"
done

# 3. Upgrade
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    sudo apt-get update -y
    sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y electron
else
    sudo dnf upgrade --security -y electron
fi

# 4. Verify
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    NEW=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' electron)
else
    NEW=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' electron)
fi
log "After upgrade: $NEW"
log "Done. Compare $NEW against 39.8.5 and restart the affected service if needed."

If you cannot patch immediately

These are runnable hardening commands. They reduce blast radius but they are not a replacement for the vendor patch.

Rate-limit and watchdog the affected service


sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -m limit --limit 50/s -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -j DROP

How to verify the fix worked

Run the version probe again and confirm the running build matches the Fixed in row above.


dpkg -l | grep -i "electron"   # Debian/Ubuntu
rpm -qa | grep -i "electron"   # RHEL/CentOS/Rocky

Expected output: the package version should meet or exceed 39.8.5.

Re-run any vulnerability scanner you used previously and confirm the finding for CVE-2026-34764 has cleared. Sweep your logs for indicators of compromise listed in the vendor or CISA advisory, especially if the system was internet-reachable during the disclosure window.

This advisory covers multiple CVE IDs. The same patched build closes every entry below:

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2026-34764 being actively exploited?