Over 2 billion Google Chrome users warned of security risk on Windows, macOS and Linux

Google has issued a critical warning for Chrome users across Windows, macOS and Linux, and has advised users to update their apps to the latest version of the build. A stable release version 81.0.4044.113 of Chrome is being seeded by Google and will reach users in the coming weeks.

In a short blog post, Google warned users of its popular browser Chrome to update to the latest version whenever available. This is due to a bug that made the browser vulnerable to attack and exploitation. Having said that, the details about this particular security risk is being kept under wraps as Google wants to first get the latest update to users that fixes the issue.

The only information Google is currently providing about this exploit is its codename, CVE-2020-6457. This is followed by an extremely short description that reads “Use after free in speech recognizer”. While this vague-worded statement does little to give us a piece of detailed information on the vulnerability, Sophos, a cybersecurity specialists team explains that “use-after-free” bugs can be used to run untrusted codes, programs by hackers from the outside. This suggests that the exploit is capable of granting remote code execution powers which are considered to be the most serious kind of vulnerability.

The attackers can bypass the regular security checks in place by using such an exploit which is why the security risk is marked as critical by Google. The browser can be used to run illegal codes and programs but the company’s fix should be enough to patch things up.

While the Chrome 81.0.4044.113 update is being released to more than 2 billion users of the browser, it could take some time for it to reach you. Nevertheless, here is how to update your Chrome browser manually in order to keep your data secure.

How to update Chrome

Google has said that a new version of the Chrome browser has been released and will be seeded “out over the coming days/weeks.” However, the bug fix is also marked as critical in the release blog which is why you can manually check for the update. Here’s how.

Click on the three vertical dots and that should open an in-line menu with various options. Go to Help and select About Google Chrome from the menu options. 

If you’re running the latest build version 81.0.4044.113 then there’s nothing for you to worry about, otherwise, check for updates regularly and install it as it arrives for you.

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