Google urges billions of Chrome users to update their browsers immediately as threats of attacks are ongoing.
Google is urging 3.2 billion Chrome users to update their Chrome browsers now. The recommendation for an emergency security update for all Chrome users was made on March 25, after the Google Team confirmed ongoing attacks.
According to the announcement, attackers are currently exploiting a high severity zero-day vulnerability. A zero-day threat is an attack that has never been seen before and doesn’t go with any recognized malware signatures. Thus, it is almost impossible to detect the danger using traditional signature-matching solutions.
Version 99.0.4844.84 of Chrome addresses a single security vulnerability, and the emergency update recommendation to this version is highly unusual. It means the threat is serious, so the call for all Chromes users to update their browsers was a matter of urgency.
The announcement was made via a Google Chrome Stable Channel Update published on March 25. In the statement, PrudhviKumar Bommana of the Google Chrome Team confirmed that it “is aware that an exploit for CVE-2022-1096 exists in the wild.”
Bommana also said in the announcement that the Google Chrome team would be rolling out version 99.0.4844.84 for Windows, Mac, and Linux in the coming days and weeks. The statement further said that a complete list of changes in this version could be found in the log. Users and security researchers are encouraged to let the team know of any new issue by filing a bug.
Understanding CVE-220-1096
Details about the CVE-2022-1096 have not been divulged publicly, except that an anonymous security researcher discovered and reported it on March 23. Nevertheless, the Google Chrome team has implied that it is a “Type Confusion in V8.” It mainly refers to the JavaScript engine that Chrome uses.
Keeping the details private is expected since attackers are already exploiting the discovered vulnerability. It is the protocol for Google not to reveal anything, especially the technical details of the attack until it has made sure that the recommended update worked its charm and Chrome’s 3.2 billion users are ably protected.
Applying the Current Version
As mentioned previously, it will take days or weeks before version 99.0.4844.84 for Windows, Mac, and Linux is completely rolled out to all 3.2 billion Chrome users. Hence, users are advised to be patient if they do not see the prompt to update to the current version.
How would users know if the update is available to them? Here are the simple steps:
- Go to your Google Chrome menu by clicking on the three dots on the farthest right side of your browser. Scroll down to “Help.” From the drop-down choices, choose “About Google Chrome.”
- If the update is available to you, give your permission, and it will automatically update. See the below photo.
- After the update reaches 100%, the below prompt will appear. You must restart your browser after installing the update. Otherwise, the update will not be activated, leaving you vulnerable to the attack. See the below photo for reference.
- After restarting your browser, go back to the Google Chrome menu to see if the update has been applied. You should see something like the below picture.
That’s it. You have already updated your Google Chrome browser to version 99.0.4844.84 and are now protected from the zero-day threat.
And relax, your browser is now protected from this zero-day threat
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