Google has released a Chrome security update covering 83 vulnerabilities, including five rated Critical, for desktop computers. The corresponding Android release includes the same security repairs unless Google identifies an exception.
The company announced the updates on 11 November. Windows and Mac move to 157.0.8103.78 or 157.0.8103.79, while the Linux version is 157.0.8103.78. Chrome for Android also moves to 157.0.8103.78. These are platform-specific releases, rather than one build number applying to every device carrying the Chrome name.
Five Critical flaws affect browser components
All five Critical entries involve use-after-free errors. The affected components listed by Google are ServiceWorker, CSS, Layout, Skia and Accessibility. Together, those names cover parts of the browser involved in background work, page styling, page layout, graphics and accessibility.
A use-after-free flaw arises when software continues referring to memory after releasing it. Malwarebytes explains that another object may occupy that space while the program still treats the old reference as valid. Depending on the circumstances, the result can include a crash, exposure of information or execution of attacker-controlled code.
That describes the possible consequences of this class of bug. It does not establish that every vulnerability in Google’s list allows an attacker to take over a device. Google’s release notice does not report active exploitation of these newly listed flaws.
Desktop and Android rollout takes time
Google says the desktop update will reach the Stable channel over a period ranging from days to weeks. Its Android announcement gives a shorter window of several days for availability through Google Play. The announcements therefore do not mean every installation received the release simultaneously.
For Android, Google also lists improvements to stability and performance. Its release policy says the security repairs correspond to those in the desktop versions unless the Android notes specify otherwise.
The notices concern desktop Chrome and Android. They do not supply a release number for Chrome on iOS or for ChromeOS, which have their own release information. An update for one of those products should not be inferred from this announcement.
Technical details remain partly restricted
Google says access to some bug information can remain limited until enough users have installed a corrected version. Restrictions can also continue where a third-party library is involved and other projects using it have not yet shipped their own repairs.
The company credits researchers and its own teams for reports in the release. It also lists automated tools used during development to find security problems. Those acknowledgements describe how bugs were identified; they are not evidence of attacks against ordinary users.
Reporting published by Malwarebytes on 13 November describes this as Google’s second Chrome security update of the week. That context should not be confused with a claim that the Critical flaws in this particular release were already being exploited.
The bottom line
The confirmed change is an 83-fix Chrome release, with different desktop builds and a corresponding Android update. Google has set out a staged rollout and disclosed five Critical flaws, but has not described active attacks involving those five entries.
Updated 14 November: this article has been rewritten as a news report, replacing the earlier advice-led headline and device-checking guide.
