Google Urges 3 Billion Chrome Users To Update Immediately

Google is urging users to update Chrome after finding a vulnerability that was being openly exploited by hackers.

The company confirmed the news in an official blog post last week in which it explained that the update was intended to fix a total of 11 serious security issues; one of which resulted in 'reports that an exploit for CVE-2022-0609 exists in the wild'.

Seven of the issues, including that which had been exploited, were described as high-level threats.

Google Chrome on phone (Alamy)

Google didn't give too much information about the exploited vulnerability in its reporting, but it was described as a use-after-free issue in Animation and was reported by Adam Weidemann and Clément Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group.

It noted, 'Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix.'

Most of the issues were uncovered by external experts who are paid to uncover issues before they can be exploited by hackers.

In its statement, Google added, 'We would also like to thank all security researchers that worked with us during the development cycle to prevent security bugs from ever reaching the stable channel. Google is aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2022-0609 exists in the wild.'

Though it has received reports about one vulnerability being exploited, thankfully the vast majority of the 11 issues are not thought to have been actively abused by hackers.

Google Chrome on laptop (Alamy)

Those who do not update may become targets for hackers who may focus on Chrome due to its widespread usage by 3.2 billion users worldwide on desktop and mobile, Forbes reports.

Updates to Chrome typically roll out automatically, but you can check you have the latest version by opening Chrome and clicking on the three dots located on the top right of the screen.

From there, select Help at the bottom of the menu, then select About Google Chrome. The page will check for updates and inform you as to whether you have the latest version installed.

Google recommended either updating to, or ensuring you are running, version 98.0.4758.102 of the Chrome browser. Chrome must be restarted for the fixes to take effect once an update has been installed.

The update marks the first zero-day hack in Chrome that Google has fixed so far this year after patching 16 similar vulnerabilities throughout 2021.

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