TL;DR
- Security Flaw: Microsoft disclosed CVE-2026-0391, a UI misrepresentation vulnerability in Edge for Android, on February 5, 2026.
- Attack Method: The flaw enables network spoofing attacks where attackers manipulate browser interface elements to deceive users.
- Risk Level: The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium) with high confidentiality impact for credential theft.
- User Impact: Attackers can spoof legitimate websites to trick users into entering credentials on malicious phishing pages.
Microsoft has warned users about a user interface misrepresentation vulnerability in Edge for Android that enables attackers to spoof network communications and deceive users into revealing sensitive information. +The company disclosed the flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-0391, through the Microsoft Security Response Center on February 5.
Only the Chromium-based version of Edge for Android is affected. This vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate browser interface elements to create convincing phishing pages that mimic legitimate websites.
“User interface (ui) misrepresentation of critical information in Microsoft Edge for Android allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.”
Microsoft Security Response Center (via Security Update Guide)
The unauthorized attacker can perform spoofing attacks over a network by manipulating how the browser displays key information. This UI misrepresentation issue allows malicious actors to deceive users into entering credentials or personal data into attacker-controlled sites.
The disclosure arrives amid rising mobile-targeted phishing campaigns that exploit compressed browser interfaces. As desktop security controls harden against traditional attacks, threat actors increasingly target mobile workflows. Smaller screens and touch-centric interactions create exploitable gaps in user verification that this vulnerability specifically targets.
Vulnerability Details and Attack Mechanism
To understand how attackers exploit this flaw, security analysts examined the specific interface elements that enable deception.
The core problem is that key information displayed in the UI can be manipulated or misrepresented, leading to potential deception.
Mobile browsers compress security signals into a tiny, dynamic interface. This includes the omnibox, padlock icon, and compact permission prompts. These constraints create opportunities for visual deception that desktop browsers avoid through larger displays and more visible security indicators.
The attack complexity is generally low. An attacker needs only to host a crafted HTML page and lure victims via phishing SMS, email, or malicious redirects. Privilege requirements are null. Victims need only open the compromised page to become vulnerable.
In a typical attack scenario, the Edge omnibox can display a legitimate banking URL while the page itself remains attacker-controlled. Users may then enter credentials into malicious forms. Because Edge and Chrome share the same underlying Chromium engine, vulnerabilities affecting one browser often impact the other.
The convergence of low attack complexity, zero privilege requirements, and mobile interface constraints creates an asymmetric threat environment favoring attackers. Unlike desktop environments where users can inspect URLs in spacious address bars and verify SSL certificates through visible indicators, mobile users make trust decisions in seconds.
They rely on compressed visual cues that this vulnerability specifically undermines.
Impact Assessment and Severity Analysis
With the attack vector established, the question becomes how severely this vulnerability threatens enterprise and consumer security.
Despite receiving a medium severity rating, the vulnerability poses substantial risk due to its attack characteristics. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (Medium severity), with high confidentiality impact.
The 6.5 score combined with network accessibility creates substantial exposure. Attackers can deceive users into revealing sensitive information or performing actions they wouldn’t normally undertake. The integrity impact is rated as Low, and availability impact is None.
This means the attack does not directly alter underlying data or impact system uptime. History demonstrates that zero-day vulnerabilities in browsers are frequently exploited before patches become available.
UI-integrity vulnerabilities attack human trust rather than system memory. This makes credential theft and consent fraud substantially easier. Detection is difficult because UI spoofing rarely leaves kernel or network fingerprints. Indicators are visual and human-report driven. Traditional security monitoring tools may not catch these attacks until after credentials have been compromised.
This disparity signals the need for context-aware risk assessments that factor in mobile usage patterns and phishing exposure. Security teams should supplement automated scoring with manual assessments of mobile usage patterns and phishing exposure.
Recommendations and Patch Guidance
Organizations should not rely solely on Chrome’s upstream release notes for vulnerability status. An upstream Chromium or Chrome fix must be ingested, tested, and shipped inside Edge before Android users are considered fully remediated.
This creates a patch lag window where Edge users remain exposed even after Google releases fixes for Chrome. Organizations running Edge on Android devices should prioritize immediate verification of their patch status and deploy available updates as quickly as possible. Security teams should also monitor for suspicious login attempts.
This gap exposes users to harvested phishing sites during routine mobile sessions. Organizations should audit deployments, verify patch versions against Microsoft’s advisory, and brief users on secondary verification until patches deploy fully.
