Google Chrome Users on High Alert for Technical Vulnerabilities

Google Chrome users are on a high alert since the browser issued the first major update of 2022, after finding a score of technical vulnerabilities in the previous version.

According to a blog post published by Google, 37 top-notch vulnerabilities were discovered in the last version of Chrome.

Chrome users advised to instantly update their browsers

Out of the 37 total dangers, ten of them are listed as a “high” threat level. Users from all platforms, including Linux, Windows, and Mac have to take immediate action to avoid any potential trouble.

Google launched a new version of Chrome to bridge the security gaps; however, the new update is messy for many platforms. Firstly detected by 9to5Google, iOS users of Chrome are continuously reporting about the unusability of the new version.

Similarly, the Google Chrome Help Forum and Reddit have also seen a plethora of complaints regarding the unstable nature of the new version.

There are complaints that their browser freezes after getting opened and restarted, with reinstallations not fixing the problem.

All Chrome users who are worrying about possible attacks on their devices can check the status of their Chrome browsers.

In the settings menu of Google Chrome, if the app indicates the version number of the browser is 97.0.4692.71 or higher in the “About Chrome” section, it suggests you have a safe browser installed.

However, people who have not received the update in their browser yet are vulnerable and advised to check their Chrome update status regularly.

Google Chrome update testing users’ limits to the maximum

9to5Google confirmed the complaints only started to occur after Chrome was updated to version 97, the latest version which Google launched across all platforms.

However, iPhone owners are the ones most affected.

Some users have suggested clearing cache can fix these problems; others complained their browsers freeze immediately after getting opened, and they do not get the time to open settings and clear cache.

Although Google has not revealed all areas where it is finding vulnerabilities, it has indicated some top threats which different users are reporting.

Included in these problems are inappropriate DevTools applications and buffer overflow in bookmarks. According to Forbes, many problems being faced by users depict a pattern of what they have been facing in recent months.

For instance, “Use-After-Free” (UAF) exploits have persistently been used by attackers, and the trend is continuing, despite repetitive complaints by users.

Since September, around 50 UAF vulnerabilities have been reported. These exploits happen when programs fail to clear pointer to the memory, despite freeing a memory location, thus paving the way for attackers to hack the program.

In addition to this, Heap buffer overflow flaws, or as it is popularly known as “Heap Smashing,” is a famous and long-lasting route of attack on Chrome users.

This type of hack allows users to rewrite important data structures, hence hacking programs in their entirety. Browser hacking records were broken last year and are expected to be even higher this year.

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