Google Chrome users in Nigeria told to update now as active exploit hits V8 engine

Google has pushed out a critical Chrome security update after confirming that hackers are actively exploiting a high-severity flaw in the browser's V8 JavaScript and WebAssembly engine. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-85046, carries a CVSS score of 8.8 and is already being used in real-world attacks.

Chrome users on Windows, macOS and Linux have been urged to update their browsers immediately. The flaw is a type-confusion bug that could allow a remote attacker to run malicious code inside Chrome's sandbox if a user visits a specially crafted webpage.

What the flaw means

The vulnerability was reported by security researcher Salvatore Gulizia, also known as Serotav, on August 4, 2026. Google rewarded him with a $1,000 bug bounty for responsible disclosure. The company has withheld technical details about how the attacks are being carried out to slow further exploitation while users apply the patch.

The latest update fixes 12 vulnerabilities across several browser components, including crash reporting, networking, compositing, V8, WebGL, CacheStorage, DevTools and Skia. Two additional flaws were rated medium severity.

Which version to install

The update moves Chrome to version 152.0.7977.82/.83 on Windows and macOS, and version 152.0.7977.82 on Linux. Google is rolling it out gradually, so it may take a few days or weeks to reach every user.

To check whether the update is ready, open Chrome and go to More > Help > About Google Chrome. The browser will search for the latest version and download it automatically. Clicking Relaunch completes the installation.

Sixth zero-day in 2026

CVE-2026-85046 is the sixth actively exploited Chrome zero-day patched this year. The five earlier ones were CVE-2026-2441, CVE-2026-3909, CVE-2026-3910, CVE-2026-5281 and CVE-2026-11645.

Chrome's security problems have been severe in 2026. An earlier Chrome 152 update alone resolved more than 300 vulnerabilities, including 10 critical and 61 high-severity weaknesses. By late August, over 2,000 Chrome vulnerabilities had reportedly been patched across the whole year.

What this means for Nigerian users

For Nigerians, the risk is especially high because Chrome is the browser most commonly used for online banking, e-commerce, government portals and social media. A successful attack could expose users to unauthorised code execution or the theft of sensitive personal and financial data.

Users of other Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi, should also check for and install any corresponding security updates as they become available.