Google Plugs Five High-Risk Security Holes in Chrome 127 for Desktop and Mobile

Google is rolling out a new round of security fixes for Chrome users worldwide addressing multiple flaws in the popular web browser, including five labelled high risk.

Chrome 127 has only been out for a week, yet researchers have already discovered vulnerabilities that bad actors might try to exploit.

High-risk flaws

The latest version – 127.0.6533.72/73 for Windows and Mac and 127.0.6533.72 for Linux – carries the usual stability and performance improvements, plus fixes for two dozen security flaws with varying degrees of exploitability and associated risks of compromise.

Five of these issues are labelled high risk – Google’s way of highlighting that, motivated attackers could use the bugs to compromise the end-user’s security and privacy. Threat actors have been known to chain together such flaws to deploy data-stealing malware on target machines.

Netizens who rely on Chrome to surf the web on their Android phones are treated to the same update, as most Android releases contain the same security fixes as their corresponding desktop updates, unless otherwise noted.

Apple customers can safely continue using Chrome on iPhone and iPad, as these security bugs don’t affect the iOS or iPadOS implementation of the popular web browsing app.

To update Chrome on your computer, simply visit Settings -> About Chrome, and let the app fetch the latest update for you. When prompted, relaunch Chrome. Remember to save your work before doing so, especially if you have any incognito tabs open – those will not respawn when Chrome restarts back.

On Android, simply navigate to the trusty Google Play store and fetch the updated Chrome 127.0.6533.64 from there.

Always have the latest version

As always, Bitdefender recommends deploying the latest software updates issued by the software/hardware vendor as soon as they’re available.

Staying up to date greatly reduces the attack surface for hackers, as most maintenance updates include important security fixes. Unpatched flaws in Google Chrome have been known to lead to spyware infections in targeted attacks.

According to the Bitdefender 2024 Consumer Cybersecurity Assessment Report, few people consider themselves an actual target for cybercriminals yet still engage in complacent cybersecurity practices, making it imperative to employ dedicated security on their personal devices.