Update Chrome now! Google releases emergency security patch

Google has released an emergency security update for its Chrome browser. The update includes a patch released four days earlier for a vulnerability which Google say is already being exploited.

The easiest way to update Chrome is to allow it to update automatically, but you can end up lagging behind if you never close the browser or if something goes wrong—such as an extension stopping you from updating the browser.

Click Settings > About Chrome. If there is an update available, Chrome will notify you and start downloading it. Then all you have to do is relaunch the browser in order for the update to complete, and for you to be safe from those vulnerabilities.

Technical details on the vulnerabilities

If you have already updated to version 124.0.6367.201/.202 for Mac and Windows or 124.0.6367.201 for Linux, this will provide protection against the first vulnerability. The patch Google issued four days ago covered this actively exploited vulnerability.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database lists publicly disclosed computer security flaws. The actively exploited CVE patched in this update is:

CVE-2024-4671 a use after free in Visuals in Google Chrome prior to 124.0.6367.201 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to potentially perform a sandbox escape via a crafted HTML page.

Use after free (UAF) is a type of vulnerability that is the result of the incorrect use of dynamic memory during a program’s operation. If, after freeing a memory location, a program does not clear the pointer to that memory, an attacker can use the error to manipulate the program. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. In this case, by exploiting the vulnerability, the attacker can escape the sandbox that should contain any threats to the browser.

Exploitation is possible by getting the target to open a specific, specially crafted webpage, so the vulnerability is suitable for exploitation as a drive-by attack.

CVE-2024-4761: An out of bounds write in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 124.0.6367.207 allowed a remote attacker to perform an out of bounds memory write via a crafted HTML page.

An out-of-bounds write or read flaw makes it possible to manipulate parts of the memory which are allocated to more critical functions. This could allow an attacker to write code to a part of the memory where it will be executed with permissions that the program and user should not have.

V8 is Google’s open-source high-performance JavaScript and WebAssembly engine and is part of the Chromium project. Among others it runs the JavaScript code included in webpages.

Again, exploitation is possible by getting the target to open a specific, especially crafted webpage, which makes the vulnerability suitable for exploitation as a drive-by attack.

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