On 12th March, Government of India issued a high-severity warning for Google Chrome users. The government has urged them to update their browsers immediately to avoid serious security threats. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) said in a notification, CIVN-2025-0046, that it has identified multiple vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit to steal data, take control of the user’s system or crash the browser entirely.
As per the notification by CERT-In and Google, these vulnerabilities affect users running older versions of Google Chrome on Windows, Mac and Linux. Specifically, if the browser version is below 134.0.6998.88/89 on Windows and Mac or 134.0.6998.88 on Linux, the system is at risk.
Cybercriminals can use these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorised access and manipulate sensitive information. They can also cause disruptions through denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that can overload of crash systems.
Google, in a statement on 10th March, confirmed that one of these security flaws is already being actively exploited by hackers. That means some users have already been targeted. To prevent further breaches, the company has released a new update that fixes five major security issues. These issues include critical vulnerabilities related to code execution, data leaks, and system crashes.
The user is required to manually update their browsers as, in many cases, Chrome does not update automatically.
How to check your Chrome version and update
To check which version of Chrome you are using:
- Open Google Chrome.
- Click the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Select Help → About Google Chrome.
- A new page will open, showing your current version.
If an update is available, Chrome will automatically download it. After that, simply restart your browser for the changes to take effect.
The latest Chrome version as of 15th March is 134.0.6998.88/89 for Windows, macOS, and Linux, while the latest Android version is 134.0.6998.95.
If a user fails to update the browser, it will leave personal information and system security vulnerable to cyberattacks. The government has thus advised all users dependent on Chrome browsers to immediately update them to stay protected.
