The Deathray

A simple way for an untrusted site to freeze a Mac

September 10th, 2026

TL;DR

A WebGPU shader on an untrusted site can hang a Mac's graphics, making the desktop UI unusable until a restart is forced. All the victim needs to do is click a link. This issue reproduces cross-browser on MacOS, but not other OSes.

Try the Deathray!

THE BELOW BUTTON WILL FREEZE YOUR MAC. IT MAY SLOW OTHER OSes

On other OSes I've tested, it causes the tab to freeze and things to chug but once you close the tab you're fine. But your mileage may vary! Only click the above if you're willing to freeze your computer.

Scope

I've reproduced the deathray under MacOS on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It does not reproduce under other operating systems. I've only tried testing on M-series Macbooks running Tahoe; I'd be interested to hear if other Macs are impacted too!

Edit (9/11/26): Folks on Hacker News have been testing it out and reporting the effects.…