In early September 2025, Google released an important security update for its Chrome browser—version 140.0.7339.127—to patch two critical vulnerabilities that posed serious risks to users worldwide. These flaws, identified as CVE-2025-10200 and CVE-2025-10201, highlight the ongoing challenges browser developers face in securing code against sophisticated attacks and underline the urgent need for users to keep their software up to date.
What Are These Vulnerabilities?
CVE-2025-10200 is a critical use-after-free vulnerability affecting Chrome’s ServiceWorker feature. ServiceWorkers are background scripts that enable modern browser capabilities such as offline access, push notifications, and caching. A flaw like this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely by tricking users into visiting a malicious webpage. Due to the severity and complexity, the vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 9.8 — just shy of the maximum score. This means successful exploitation could severely compromise user security without their interaction.
Meanwhile, CVE-2025-10201 targets Chrome’s Mojo IPC (inter-process communication) system, which is crucial for safely managing communication between various browser processes. This inappropriate implementation bug could let attackers escape Chrome’s sandbox, which normally isolates browser processes to prevent exploitation, thus enabling privilege escalation or unauthorized code execution. This flaw has a CVSS score estimated at 8.8, marking it as high severity.
Why Should Users Care?
Both vulnerabilities can be exploited by visiting malicious websites, carrying no need for additional user interaction like clicking a popup or downloading files. Attackers exploiting these weaknesses could take full control of a victim’s browser session, access sensitive data, or even gain broader control of the underlying operating system. For enterprises, this translates into potential data breaches, while personal users risk exposure of private information and disruption.
Google’s Response and Patch Details
Google promptly addressed these issues in the Chrome 140.0.7339.127 update for Windows and Linux, and version 140.0.7339.132 for Mac users. Alongside the patches, Google announced generous bug bounty rewards of $43,000 and $30,000 for the security researchers who responsibly disclosed these vulnerabilities.
Beyond fixing these specific bugs, Google’s rapid response serves as a reminder that zero-day threats and critical vulnerabilities remain a constant challenge in software security. Timely updates are the best defense.
What Should You Do Now?
- Update Chrome immediately: Users are strongly advised to upgrade to the latest available Chrome version as soon as possible to protect themselves from active exploitation attempts.
- Enable automatic updates: Keeping automatic updates enabled ensures that critical patches are applied without delay in the future.
- Verify your version: Check Chrome’s settings under “About Google Chrome” to confirm you are running the patched version.
Final Thoughts
The disclosure of CVE-2025-10200 and CVE-2025-10201 reminds us how critical browser security is in our everyday digital lives. Attackers continue to evolve their tactics to exploit even the smallest flaws, targeting billions of users worldwide. Staying vigilant, updating promptly, and understanding these threats helps maintain safety and trust in the digital ecosystem.
Keep your software updated, stay safe online!
