Don’t fall prey to this worrying Google Chrome exploit – update your browser now

Heap buffer overflow issue represents a serious hole in Chrome’s security

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Google Chromehas a vulnerability of the most dangerous kind, so you’ll want to check that your browser is updated to the latest version which carries the fix.

The worst kind of vulnerability is one that’s known about, andGooglehas confirmed that this particular hole in Chrome has already been exploited. So not only is it known to malicious actors, but it’s also being actively leveraged against Chrome users, which is obviously bad news.

The problem in this case, asoutlined by Google, is a heap buffer overflow in WebRTC. (As the name suggests, this is an issue where an attacker causes an area of memory to be written to so it overflows, opening up the avenue for exploitation).

This is known as vulnerability CVE-2023-7024, and Google acknowledges that an exploit for it exists out there.

Heap and stack overflows are some of the more common attack vectors around, and indeed this is far from the first heap overflow gremlin that has troubled Google’sweb browser.

How to fix this security flaw

Fortunately, there’s no need to panic – all you have to do to protect yourself from this attack is open Chrome’s Settings page (from the three-dot menu, top-right of the browser). From there, look at the left-side panel, and click on ‘About Chrome’ at the bottom of the list.

Just opening this will automatically check for updates and apply an upgrade if it’s needed. To have protection against this exploit, on aWindows PCyou should be on Chrome version 120.0.6099.130 (or alternatively 120.0.6099.129 – and that’s the version you’ll want to be running on Mac or Linux).

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When we checked, we were still running version 120.0.6099.110, and our Chrome browser hadn’t updated itself yet. So, it’s well worth checking now, and getting this sorted before there’s any chance of your PC being compromised.

Don’t forget that after Chrome has updated itself, you’ll need to close the browser (all instances of it), and reopen it to apply the upgrade – then everything’s sorted and you’re good to go.

ViaGhacks

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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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