Google has released Chrome version 144.0.7559.96/.97 to the stable channel across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, addressing a critical race condition vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine.
The update is rolling out gradually to users over the coming days and weeks.
Security Update Details
The latest stable release patches one significant security vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-1220, a high-severity race condition in V8 that could potentially lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.
The flaw was reported by external researcher @p1nky4745 on January 7, 2026, demonstrating the effectiveness of Chrome’s bug bounty program in identifying critical threats before widespread exploitation.
| CVE ID | Severity | Component | Issue Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-1220 | High | V8 JavaScript Engine | Race Condition |
A race condition in V8 occurs when multiple threads access and modify shared memory simultaneously without proper synchronisation, creating a window of vulnerability where an attacker could manipulate memory state to bypass security protections.
This class of vulnerability poses significant risk to users, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute malicious code within the browser’s security context.
Google’s security team employed multiple detection mechanisms to identify and validate this vulnerability, including AddressSanitizer, MemorySanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer, Control Flow Integrity checks, libFuzzer, and AFL (American Fuzzy Lop).
These automated fuzzing and sanitization tools continuously scan Chrome’s codebase to catch memory safety issues and undefined behavior before they reach users.
The company emphasizes that detailed bug information remains restricted until the majority of users have received the patch, preventing bad actors from targeting unpatched systems.
Additionally, if vulnerabilities exist in third-party libraries that other projects also depend on, access restrictions continue until all affected projects deploy fixes.
All users should update to Chrome 144 immediately upon availability in their region. Organizations managing Chrome deployments across enterprise environments should prioritize this update’s deployment timeline.
Users encountering any stability issues following the update are encouraged to report problems through Chrome’s bug tracker or community help forum.
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