The government has released a serious cybersecurity warning for people using Google Chrome and has urged everyone to take immediate steps to secure their devices.

In an advisory, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the national cyber agency under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, highlighted dangerous vulnerabilities in Chrome that hackers could exploit to break into systems.

Officials advised users to update Chrome right away because older versions contain major security flaws. The latest update fixes these issues and reduces the risk of cyberattacks.

According to the advisory, systems running Chrome versions older than 144.0.7559.75 on Linux and 145.0.7632.75/76 on Windows and macOS may be unsafe.

CERT-In said attackers could take advantage of the vulnerability to run malicious code remotely on a targeted device.

The problem is linked to a “Use-After-Free” bug in Chrome’s CSS component. In this situation, the browser continues to use memory even after it has been cleared, which hackers can exploit.

The agency also clarified that attackers do not need physical access to the device. They can trick users into clicking a suspicious link or opening a specially crafted website. The flaw can activate as soon as the page loads.

If the attack succeeds, hackers may run harmful programs on the computer. They could steal data, install malware, spy on user activity, or even take complete control of the system.

How to update Google Chrome

Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of Chrome, open Settings, and select About Chrome.

The browser will automatically check for updates and download the latest version. After installation, restart Chrome to complete the update process.