pixel
Connect with us

News

Update Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Edge: New threat puts you at risk

Update Chrome right now. Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, and Brave have each issued critical security patches for each web browser.

browser logos on blurred background
Image: KnowTechie

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

If you’re using Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Edge, or any number of other apps, you might want to sit down for this one. It seems we’ve got ourselves a major security breach on our hands – and it’s not pretty.

The culprit? A nasty little bug known as CVE-2023-4863 reports Stack Diary. This bug’s been causing havoc in the WebP code library, leading to system crashes and opening the door for arbitrary code execution. In other words, it’s a hacker’s dream come true.

What’s WebP? WebP is a type of image file format created by Google. It’s designed to make images smaller in size without losing quality, which helps websites load faster.

Affected apps include fan favorites like Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Edge, along with Telegram, Thunderbird, and Gimp. But don’t despair just yet – most Chromium-based browsers have already started rolling out updates to squash this bug.

So, keep an eye out for those notifications and hit ‘update’ faster than you’d swipe right on a tech-savvy supermodel. Here are the model numbers you want to have your browsers updated to:

CompanyBrowserVersion (Mac / Linux)Version (Windows)
GoogleChrome116.0.5846.187116.0.5845.187/.188
MozillaFirefox/ThunderbirdFirefox 117.0.1, Thunderbird 102.15.1Firefox ESR 115.2.1, Thunderbird 115.2.2
MicrosoftEdgeN/A116.0.1938.81
BraveBrave Browser1.57.641.57.64

Now, you might be thinking, “I’m an Apple user. I’m safe, right?” Well, not so fast. Even macOS Ventura has been hit by this flaw, but Apple has released version 13.5.2 to patch things up.

And let’s not forget about our friends using Electron-based apps like Signal and Bandisoft’s Honeyview, Affinity, LibreOffice, Telegram, and various Android and Flutter-based apps – you guys are in the same boat.

So, folks, the moral of the story is this: update, update, update! Unless you’re keen on having your personal data on display or your device turned into a fancy paperweight, that is.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in News