Chrome fixes a problematic security flaw in first update of 2026
Google has fixed a vulnerability in the new Chrome versions 143.0.7499.192/193 for Windows and macOS and 143.0.7499.192 for Linux. According to Google, this vulnerability has not yet been exploited for attacks in the wild.
In the Chrome Releases blog post, Harry Souders provides scant details on the fixed vulnerability, which was reported to Google by an external researcher. The vulnerability (identified as CVE-2026-0628) is classified as high risk and is located in the WebView component, caused by unspecified rules that aren’t consistently enforced (“insufficient policy enforcement”). This can mean, for example, that content from an external source is loaded because its origin isn’t checked or checked carefully enough, even though the rules (such as the same origin policy) provide for this. Gal Weizman reported this to Google at the end of November.
Chrome usually updates itself automatically when a new version is available, but you can manually trigger the update check using the menu item Help > About Google Chrome. Google has also provided Chrome for Android 143.0.7499.193. The same vulnerabilities have been fixed in the Android version as in the desktop versions. The Extended Stable Channel for Windows and macOS now contains the updated Chromium version 142.0.7499.265.
Google will release Chrome 144 on January 13th, 2026.
Other Chromium-based browsers
The manufacturers of other Chromium-based browsers are now being called upon to follow suit with updates. Microsoft Edge and Brave are currently on Chromium 143 and at the pre-Christmas security level.
Vivaldi ignores odd Chromium versions (such as 143) and uses the Extended Stable Channel of the previous version instead. Vivaldi 7.7.3851.66 from December 17th, 2025 contains Chromium 142.0.7444.245. The Extended Stable Channel now contains Chromium 142.0.7444.265, which Vivaldi will presumably use to quickly provide an update. Meanwhile, the developers are focusing on Vivaldi 7.8 with Chromium 144.
With the Opera One 125 browser based on Chromium version 141, which was released on December 4th, 2025, Opera has closed the gap on the competition for the time being. However, Google has not released any updates for this Chromium version—the last one dates back to October 2025. The beta version Opera 126 contains Chromium 142, which is likely to have received a final update this week.