Warning! Update Your Chrome Immediately: Google Patches Actively Exploited Chrome Zero-Day Vulnerability

Google has rolled out an urgent security update for its Chrome web browser to address a high-severity vulnerability that is currently being exploited in the wild.

The weakness, CVE-2026-2441 and rated at 8.8 on the CVSS scale, is a use-after-free issue in Chrome’s CSS engine. The issue was identified by security researcher Shaheen Fazim on February 11, 2026.

According to the US National Vulnerability Database, “Use-after-free in CSS in Google Chrome prior to 145.0.7632.75 allowed a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside a sandbox via a crafted HTML page.”

While Google has not shared technical details about how the vulnerability is being exploited or who is behind the attacks, it confirmed that “an exploit for CVE-2026-2441 exists in the wild.” This makes it the first actively exploited Chrome zero-day vulnerability patched by Google in 2026.

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Browser zero-days continue to be favoured by attackers because of the very large number of users around the world and the extensive attack surface presented by typical web browsing. In 2025, Google repaired eight Chrome zero-days that were actively exploited or had proof-of-concept exploits available.

Broader Zero-Day Trend Across Platforms

The Chrome patch comes after a similar disclosure from Apple that last week also pushed out updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS Monterey, tvOS, watchOS and visionOS to rectify CVE-2026-20700 (CVSS 7.8). That vulnerability had been exploited in an “extremely sophisticated attack” made by hackers targeting a small number of individuals using older versions of iOS, Apple said 26.

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Users are strongly advised to update Chrome immediately. The patched versions are:

Windows & macOS: 145.0.7632.75 / 145.0.7632.76

Linux: 144.0.7559.75

To verify and install the update, users can go to More → Help → About Google Chrome, then click Relaunch.

Users of other Chromium-based browsers — such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi — should similarly install the patches when they become available.

This is yet another example of why it’s so important to update your browser in a more timely manner. A single page can be enough to compromise an unpatched system, so it is critical that users and organisations apply updates as quickly as possible.