For those of you who aren’t aware, Google has been working on a new development cycle for its browser, Chrome. It employed several researchers to test the latest update, which is when it discovered 26 new vulnerabilities in the system. So, if you don’t update it to the newest version 97.0.4692.99 in the coming weeks, there’s a very good chance you stand the risk of malicious attacks or stolen data.
With more than two billion people using Chrome in 2022, you can understand how everyone is in high alert mode at the moment. Of the 26 new vulnerabilities, 15 are high-risk, while one is “critically dangerous”. From the list of issues mentioned by Google, it appears as if the main threat is Use-After-Free (UAF).
UAFs are popular among browser hackers, using openings created when a program doesn’t clear a specific pointer to memory. Basically, if the program neglects to free one of the memory allocations, the hacker can then use that as a way to breach security protocols. With many of us working on so many apps and programs daily, there are so many opportunities for UAFs to occur.
All it takes is for you to read through the list of vulnerabilities mentioned by Google to see how many times “Use after free” is mentioned. Sadly, the most critical one is in Safe Browsing, which means it isn’t as secure as it used to be. We recommend you update your Chrome browser as soon as possible.
To do so, you need to head to the Settings and go down on the side to About Chrome. It will show you the latest version and also update you at the same time. We also checked the Avast Secure Browser we use since it’s Chrome-based, and the process is the same. So at least we know we can safely write these articles without stressing about cybersecurity threats.
