The vulnerability was discovered in the WebP image compression and rendering format. It is developed by Google and widely used in the vast majority of web browsers to display graphics on websites.
Experts: the threat is serious. Necessary update
As they explain, the hole allows potential hackers to overflow the browser buffer and introduce malicious code or take control of the system. All you need to do is display the malicious image in WebP, a format that is used practically at every step.
Cybersecurity experts emphasize that the threat is very serious. Cybercriminals – if they manage to exploit the buffer overflow for their own purposes – have three options. They can control your computer, steal data or introduce malicious software that will cause significant damage. Moreover, the threat affects not only the Google Chrome browser, but any browser that uses the WebP codec.
Fortunately, the manufacturers of the most popular web browsers reacted quickly and announced that they had already released updates containing the appropriate patch. Performing an upgrade should resolve this issue. In addition to Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge, the Brave browser based on the Chromium engine has also received a security update.
If you’re using one of these browsers, you’ll want to make sure you’ve updated to the latest version (or update it yourself). Users of other browsers using the same codec can probably expect an update soon. Like , Apple also released a security patch this week. The company did not explicitly admit it on its website, but it seems that the purpose of the update is also to patch a WebP-related vulnerability.
Source: Gazeta
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