WebGPU is a modern browser graphics API that lets web applications use the GPU for rendering and general-purpose computation. It is designed for high performance and gives JavaScript access to powerful graphics features through a controlled browser interface. In Chrome, WebGPU is implemented by a component called Dawn.
In cyber security, WebGPU matters because it expands the browser’s attack surface. The API sits close to complex graphics code, GPU drivers, and platform backends, which are all common sources of memory-safety bugs and other flaws. Attackers may try to trigger crashes, corrupt memory, or abuse GPU-heavy workloads for fingerprinting and side-channel style analysis. Defenders care about WebGPU because secure browser design must validate inputs, isolate untrusted web content, and keep the graphics stack patched. If a browser or driver is outdated, weaknesses in WebGPU handling can become a path to denial of service or, in severe cases, code execution.