Google has released an emergency security update for Google Chrome to fix CVE-2025-13223, a critical zero-day vulnerability rated 8.8 on the CVSS scale. The flaw has already been used in real-world attacks, making it the seventh actively exploited Chrome zero‑day in 2025 and reinforcing the browser’s status as a prime target for advanced threat actors.
What is Chrome zero‑day CVE-2025-13223 and who is affected?
According to the entry in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), CVE-2025-13223 is a type confusion vulnerability in Chrome’s JavaScript engine V8 and its WebAssembly subsystem. The issue affects all Chrome builds prior to version 142.0.7444.175.
A remote attacker can exploit the bug by luring a victim to a maliciously crafted web page. Successful exploitation can lead to heap corruption, opening the door to arbitrary code execution in the browser process or, at minimum, a crash and denial of service.
Because the flaw can be triggered simply by visiting a compromised or attacker-controlled site, any user or organization running an unpatched version of Chrome is at risk, regardless of industry or geography.
How type confusion in V8 becomes a powerful exploit primitive
The V8 engine is responsible for executing JavaScript in Chrome and is heavily optimized for performance. To achieve high speed, it makes assumptions about the types and layout of objects in memory. When these assumptions are wrong, a type confusion bug occurs: the engine treats one kind of object as another incompatible type.
In practice, this can allow an attacker to read or write memory outside intended bounds. By carefully crafting JavaScript and WebAssembly code, attackers can turn this into powerful exploitation primitives: reading sensitive data from memory, modifying internal structures, or hijacking control flow to execute injected payloads.
Why V8 and WebAssembly are high‑value targets for attackers
Modern exploits rarely rely on a single bug. V8 and WebAssembly vulnerabilities are particularly attractive because they provide a first step toward code execution within the browser sandbox. When chained with additional flaws—such as a sandbox escape or a local privilege escalation in the operating system—attackers can move from browser code execution to a full system compromise.
These techniques are frequently seen in sophisticated, targeted operations against enterprises and government entities, where attackers invest in multi-stage exploit chains to bypass hardened defenses.
Google TAG’s role: detection in the wild and likely targets
CVE-2025-13223 was reported by Clement Lecigne of the Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG), a team focused on tracking state-backed and high-end threat actors. Google has confirmed that the vulnerability was already being exploited in real attacks at the time of disclosure.
Historically, TAG has observed similar Chrome zero‑day exploits used in espionage campaigns against journalists, political opposition figures, human rights defenders, and dissidents. While Google has not yet shared technical details, exploit chains, or geographic information for this specific case, such withholding is standard practice to reduce the risk of copycat activity until updates are widely deployed.
Patched Chrome versions and how to update securely
The fix for CVE-2025-13223 is included in the following stable Chrome releases:
Windows: Chrome 142.0.7444.175 and 142.0.7444.176
macOS: Chrome 142.0.7444.176
Linux: Chrome 142.0.7444.175
Chrome typically updates in the background, but in the case of an actively exploited zero‑day, users and administrators should manually verify that the patch is installed. To do this, navigate to: Menu → Help → About Google Chrome and wait for the browser to check for and apply updates, then restart the browser.
Organizations with large fleets of endpoints should rely on centralized patch management (GPO, MDM, or dedicated patch management platforms) to shorten the exposure window. Fast, coordinated rollout of browser updates is critical to preventing targeted exploitation at scale.
Seventh Chrome zero‑day in 2025: implications for enterprise security
Google has stated that CVE-2025-13223 is the seventh confirmed Chrome zero‑day exploited in 2025, compared with ten such flaws patched throughout all of 2024. This trend highlights two parallel realities:
First, web browsers remain a primary attack vector. They are exposed to untrusted content by design and run complex engines such as V8 and WebAssembly, which greatly expand the attack surface. For many organizations, the browser is now the de facto “operating system” for daily work, concentrating risk in a single application.
Second, detection and response capabilities are improving. Zero‑day vulnerabilities are increasingly discovered through incident response, threat hunting, and researcher efforts rather than remaining undetected for years. Initiatives like bug bounty programs and browser exploitation contests (for example, Pwn2Own) also incentivize responsible disclosure of critical flaws.
For defenders, the practical takeaway is clear: patch velocity is a core security control. Even advanced, expensive zero‑day exploits lose operational value once patches are widely deployed. Automating browser and OS updates, enforcing supported versions, maintaining a current software inventory, and training staff to avoid suspicious links and sites significantly lowers the likelihood that a zero‑day like CVE-2025-13223 will succeed.
With another actively exploited Chrome zero‑day now public, users and organizations should treat browser updates as a high-priority security task, not a routine IT chore. Ensuring that Chrome is fully patched, auditing update policies across the environment, and reinforcing secure browsing habits are concrete steps that can meaningfully reduce the risk of compromise from vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-13223 and the next zero‑day that follows.
