His request to know how she responded to a Russian demand for a sample so they could carry out their own tests sparked howls of disapproval from MPs.
Corbyn's spokesman later told reporters that his record on international crises is bettered by no MP in Parliament.
He said the UK has a history of intelligence mistakes, including on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and called for the Government to act only on the basis of evidence - pointing out that Corbyn had also received security briefings.
May was still taking MPs' questions when she was asked about that statement. "Wrong and outrageous," she called it.
While Corbyn did say a "robust dialogue" was needed with Russia, his stance sits uneasily with his past left-wing activities, and comes just weeks after the papers were filled with reports - denied by the Labour leader - that he fed intelligence to a Czech agent in the 1980s.
Corbyn had similarly misjudged the mood on Tuesday when May first pointed the finger at Russia, giving President Vladimir Putin 24 hours to explain how the nerve agent came to be used in Britain.
The Labour leader chose to direct his ire at May's Conservative Party, who he said accepted more than £800,000 in donations from Russian oligarchs.
Today, it was left to Yvette Cooper - beaten to the Labour leadership by Corbyn in 2015 and now chairwoman of Parliament's Home Affairs Committee - to speak for moderate Labour MPs.
The Prime Minister's "conclusion about the culpability of the Russian state is an immensely serious one, and that, in addition to their breaches of international law, the use of chemical weapons, but also their continued disregard for the rule of the law and for human rights must be met with unequivocal condemnation," Cooper said, to near universal approval.
- Bloomberg
