You need to update Chrome right now: Here's why
What's the story
In a major shocker, two critical vulnerabilities have been flagged in Google's all-new Chrome 81 browser. The issues are capable of causing serious problems for users of the popular tool, but can be dodged by simply updating it to the latest available version, which comes with a fix. Here's all you need to know about it.
Issues
Issues capable of compromising systems, taking control of them
Flagged by Zhe Jin from Qihoo 360, the vulnerabilities in question - officially dubbed CVE-2020-6462 and CVE-2020-6461 - have been described as 'use-after-free' memory-related errors. They affect Chrome's task scheduling and data storage functionalities and could reportedly be used by an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a PC using the vulnerable browser and take control of it.
Security
No other details were shared by Google
Google has not shared much about the vulnerabilities in a bid to keep attackers from exploiting the flaw and carrying out targeted attacks against users who are still running the vulnerable version of Chrome. However, from what reports suggest, no evidence has been discovered that suggests either of these bugs has been exploited in the wild.
Warning
US government has also flagged these issues
Along with Google, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has also issued a warning about the two flaws, urging the public to update Chrome 81 immediately. The alert suggests that an attacker could use a malicious web page and trick the vulnerable user into opening it to exploit either of the two flaws.
Fix
This is the version you need to install
The version of Chrome that comes with a fix for both these issues is 81.0.4044.129. It has been released for all major platforms, starting from Windows to Linux, and can be installed immediately by heading over to Help > About Chrome on the browser. Google also says it will install the update automatically for users in the coming days and weeks.