Google has released security updates to address a vulnerability in its Chrome browser for which an exploit exists in the wild.
The zero-day vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-6554 (CVSS score: 8.1), has been described as a type confusion flaw in the V8 JavaScript and WebAssembly engine.
"Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 138.0.7204.96 allowed a remote attacker to perform arbitrary read/write via a crafted HTML page," according to a description of the bug on the NIST's National Vulnerability Database (NVD).
Type confusion vulnerabilities can have severe consequences as they can be exploited to trigger unexpected software behavior, resulting in the execution of arbitrary code and program crashes.
Zero-day bugs like this are especially risky because attackers often start using them before a fix is available. In real-world attacks, these flaws can let hackers install spyware, launch drive-by downloads, or quietly run harmful code — sometimes just by getting someone to open a malicious website.
Clément Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been credited with discovering and reporting the flaw on June 25, 2025, signaling that it may have been weaponized in highly targeted attacks — possibly involving nation-state actors or surveillance operations. TAG typically detects and investigates serious threats like government-backed attacks.
The tech giant also noted that the issue was mitigated the next day by means of a configuration change that was pushed out to the Stable channel across all platforms. For everyday users, that means the threat may not be widespread yet, but it's still urgent to patch — especially if you're in roles handling sensitive or high-value data.
Google has not released any additional details about the vulnerability and who may have exploited it, but acknowledged that "an exploit for CVE-2025-6554 exists in the wild."
CVE-2025-6554 is the fourth zero-day vulnerability in Chrome to be addressed by Google since the start of the year after CVE-2025-2783, CVE-2025-4664, and CVE-2025-5419. However, it bears noting that there is no clarity on whether CVE-2025-4664 has been abused in a malicious context.
To safeguard against potential threats, it's advised to update their Chrome browser to versions 138.0.7204.96/.97 for Windows, 138.0.7204.92/.93 for macOS, and 138.0.7204.96 for Linux.
If you're unsure whether your browser is up to date, go to Settings > Help > About Google Chrome — it should trigger the latest update automatically. For businesses and IT teams managing multiple endpoints, enabling automatic patch management and monitoring browser version compliance is critical.
Users of other Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi are also advised to apply the fixes as and when they become available.
