Google Chrome users ALERT! Govt WARNS against this version: Know what to do

If you use Chrome browser, then this is for you. The Indian government has issued a high-severity warning to Google Chrome users via the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is part of the IT ministry. The warning is just for users who are running an earlier version of Chrome than the 97.0.4692.71 version. Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Google Chrome which can be exploited by malicious attackers to execute arbitrary code on a targeted system.

CERT-In advisory mentioned while explaining that these flaws exist in Google Chrome as a result of Use after free in the Storage, Screen Capture, Sign-in, SwiftShader, PDF, Autofill, and File Manager APIs; DevTools, Navigation, Autofill, Blink, WebShare, Passwords, and Compositing have all been implemented incorrectly. Also, the overflow of the heap buffer in the Media streams API, Bookmarks, and ANGLE; Incorrect security UI in Autofill, Browser UI; Type Confusion in V8; Memory access beyond of limits in Web Serial; The CERT-In advisory describes, "Uninitialized Use in File API and Policy Bypass in Service Workers."

How will it affect you?

These vulnerabilities can be exploited by any cyber attacker and may land Chrome users on a malicious web page without even letting you know. If the attacker succeeds in exploiting these flaws, they will be able to run "arbitrary code" on your device and steal your personal information.

What should Chrome users do?

To avoid being the victim of this malicious act, CERT-In advised the Chrome users that they should update their browsers to the latest version 97.0.4692.1 which was rolled out by Google earlier this week. This version is said to fix the issues and improve the browser vulnerabilities. Here are simple steps to update your Chrome browser.