It’s the second week of the month, and that can only mean one thing: expect lots of security updates to hit your operating systems and applications. Not one to disappoint, Google has just confirmed a total of 12 new security issues affecting Google Chrome and released a security update bringing the web browser to version 131 on Windows, Mac, Linux platforms and Android. Here’s what you need to know.

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Google issues update warning for all Chrome web browser users

In a November 12 security announcementGoogle has confirmed that a total of 12 security issues have been discovered and fixed, affecting all users of the Chrome web browser.

The update to Chrome 131 will happen in the coming days and weeks, but as is always the case when it comes to security, I recommend that you start this process as soon as possible, and I will explain precisely how to proceed. do it at the end of this article.

Windows or macOS users will find that the update brings their Chrome version to 131.0.6778.69/.70, while for Linux users it is 31.0.6778.69. As for Android, the new version is Chrome 131.0.6778.39.

“Access to bug details and links may be restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix,” said Prudhvikumar Bommana of the Google Chrome team, “we will also keep restrictions if the bug exists in a third-party library that other projects also depend on, but have not yet been fixed.

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Security flaws affecting 3.2 billion Google Chrome users

Although Google does not list all security vulnerabilities that were fixed by the latest Chrome update, it highlights those that were discovered by external security researchers. These include one high-rated issue, six medium issues, and a single low-rated vulnerability. Type common vulnerabilities and exposures, or CVE numbers, into Google and you can see what level of detail is available for each at that time. However, as we have already explained, you should not expect this to amount to much at this stage.

High severity:

• CVE-2024-11110 is an improper implementation vulnerability in Blink.

Average severity:

• CVE-2024-11111 is an improper implementation vulnerability in Autofill.
• CVE-2024-11112 is a free use-after-use vulnerability in Media.
• CVE-2024-11113 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Accessibility.
• CVE-2024-11114 is an improper implementation vulnerability in Views.
• CVE-2024-11115 is an insufficient policy enforcement vulnerability in Navigation.
• CVE-2024-11116 is an improper implementation vulnerability in Paint.

Low severity:

• CVE-2024-11117 is an improper implementation in FileSystem.

How to Update Google Chrome Right Now

If you’re one of the 3.2 billion users of Google’s Chrome web browser, you should see the fix roll out automatically in the coming days. However, rather than waiting for the security update to be available and installed automatically, you can start the process now.

To force the security update, head to the Help | About your Google Chrome menu and the download will begin automatically.

Remember to restart your Google Chrome browser once the update is installed, otherwise it will not activate and you will still be vulnerable to attacks.