Ladybird contains a dangling-reference memory-safety flaw in its WebAssembly ESM-integration module loader. When a JavaScript function is imported into a WebAssembly module via the ESM path, WebAssemblyModule.cpp passes a stack-local Wasm::FunctionType by reference to create_host_function, whose host callback captures and later reads that reference; once the ESM link-loop iteration ends the FunctionType is destroyed, leaving the callback with a dangling reference (the normal instantiate path uses a long-lived reference and is not affected). Stale result-type data lets the host callback return an empty result vector for a statically non-empty result, so the destination register retains an attacker-influenced value that is then consumed by the WASM-GC array.set handler, which bit-casts the reference low bits to an ArrayInstance pointer after only a null check, yielding an arbitrary write. A web page can chain this into code execution in the WebContent process. Verified reachable from HTML content without any instrumentation or source modification.
https://github.com/bikini/exploitarium/tree/main/ladybird-wasm-esm-host-function-rce-poc
Published: 2026-07-01
Updated: 2026-07-01
Base Score: 7.6
Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Severity: High
Base Score: 8.3
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Severity: High
Base Score: 8.9
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
Severity: High