Government Issues Warning to Update Your Google Chrome Now
The U.S. government’s cybersecurity agency has issued an urgent warning. They say all Google Chrome users must update their browsers right away. This is to fix a serious security vulnerability that hackers could exploit.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) made the announcement on Tuesday. They highlighted the “high severity” vulnerability in Google Chrome. Hackers taking advantage of this flaw could gain control of an affected computer system.
CISA said the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-2033, exists in Google Chrome prior to version 113.0.5672.92. The agency urgently recommends users and administrators update their Chrome web browser to the latest version.
What Is the Risk?
Security experts warn that hackers have already started exploiting this vulnerability. By targeting Chrome users, cybercriminals could carry out a range of malicious activities. This includes stealing sensitive data, deploying malware, and taking full remote control of compromised systems.
According to Google’s blog post, the high-severity flaw is a “use after free” memory corruption vulnerability. Such flaws are fairly common but highly dangerous if successfully exploited. They can allow full code execution and system hijacking by malicious actors.
The tech giant said it is aware that this security issue “exists in the wild.” This means hackers have already developed exploits to target vulnerable Chrome users before a fix was available.
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Update Google Chrome Now
Both CISA and Google strongly urge all users to initiate a Chrome browser update immediately. The latest desktop version 113.0.5672.92 for Windows, Mac and Linux resolves this actively exploited zero-day threat.
Updating Chrome is easy! Here’s how to do it:
- On Windows or Mac:
- Open Google Chrome.
- In the top right corner, click the three dots. This opens the Chrome menu.
- Click on “Settings”.
- Scroll down and click on “About Chrome”.
- Chrome will automatically check for updates. If an update is available, it will download and install it.
- You may need to restart Chrome for the update to take effect.
- On Android:
- Open the Google Play Store app.
- Search for “Chrome”.
- If an update is available, you will see an “Update” button. Tap the button to update Chrome.
- On iPhone or iPad:
- Open the App Store app.
- Tap on your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Scroll down and look for any pending updates.
- If there is an update available for Chrome, you will see a “Update” button next to it. Tap the button to update Chrome.
The browser should then automatically check for updates and prompt you to restart to install the latest secure version.
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Other Defenses
In addition to ensuring their Chrome browser is up-to-date, experts advise users to take additional precautions. Enabling Google’s Enhanced Safe Browsing mode provides improved protection against phishing, malware and other web-based threats.
Running up-to-date anti-virus software is also highly recommended, as is exercising caution when opening links or documents from untrusted sources.
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