Google Chrome 116 Released With One-Time Permissions, 26 Security Fixes

A week ago Google released Chrome 116 to the Early Stable channel. Now, it is available for everyone to download and install. To be precise, the exact version of this Chrome release is 116.0.5845.96/97 for the desktop version. Moreover, updates have also been made for other platforms.

This release addresses 26 security vulnerabilities out of which 8 are deemed of high importance, 14 are medium, and only 2 of them or low. Therefore, it is advised that you go through this post and learn what else is new, before upgrading to the latest Chrome version.

Additionally, this release also includes new features and improvements.

Latest Google Chrome Versions

Platform	Version	Release Date
Chrome for Windows	120.0.6099.56	29-Nov-23
Chrome for macOS	120.0.6099.56	29-Nov-23
Chrome for Linux	119.0.6045.105	31-Oct-23
Chrome for Android	119.0.6045.66	31-Oct-23
Chrome for iOS	119.0.6045.109	31-Oct-23

Chrome 116 release summary

• Release Build:
  • Windows: 116.0.5845.96/.97
  • Linux/Mac: 116.0.5845.96
  • iOS: 116.0.5845.103
• Release Date: Tuesday, August 15th, 2023
• Compatibility: Windows 11, 10 (32-bit and 64-bit), Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android.
• Previous Build: 115.0.5790.90

New in Chrome 116

Weekly security updates

Prior to Chrome 116, Google published security updates for the Chrome browser on a bi-weekly basis, which is every two weeks. However, in their security announcement, they now plan to switch to a weekly schedule for releasing security updates.

This would mean that you can now upgrade your Chrome version (while remaining within the same major version) on a weekly basis, which would install the latest security patches and mitigate any vulnerabilities. The major version upgrade for CHrome will remain on a 4-week schedule.

Before Chrome version 77, Google published security updates every 35 days. After Chrome 77, they switched to a bi-weekly schedule to mitigate the risk of zero-day exploits. However, with the advancement of both skills and technology on the hacker’s end, they are now shifting to a weekly security release.

That said, Google has a message for Chrome users:

Not all security bug fixes are used for n-day exploitation. But we don’t know which bugs are exploited in practice, and which aren’t, so we treat all critical and high severity bugs as if they will be exploited. A lot of work goes into making sure these bugs get triaged and fixed as soon as possible. Rather than having fixes sitting and waiting to be included in the next bi-weekly update, weekly updates will allow us to get important security bug fixes to you sooner, and better protect you and your most sensitive data.

Google

In translation, Google means there is no point for a vulnerability to remain unpatched even when discovered and fixed. Weekly updates will help deliver security patches faster, giving attackers less time to exploit them.

With that, Google reminds its users to keep on the lookout and update their browsers as soon as one is available. You will be notified about an available update in the browser’s top-right corner, as in the image below.

One Time Permissions

Google is working on a permission dialog box that allows you to allow certain permissions only once. The option to select “Allow this time” is being added to the dialog box with Chrome 116.

These are the 3 options that users will now see and choose from:

• Allow this time: Temporarily allow.
• Allow on every visit: Persistent allow.
• Don’t allow: Persistent block.
• Clicking the “x” button: Temporary block.

Security patches

As we mentioned earlier, Chrome 116 addresses 26 security vulnerabilities. Here are the details for some of them:

• [1448548] High CVE-2023-2312: Use after free in Offline.
• [1458303] High CVE-2023-4349: Use after free in Device Trust Connectors.
• [1454817] High CVE-2023-4350: Inappropriate implementation in Fullscreen.
• [1465833] High CVE-2023-4351: Use after free in Network.
• [1452076] High CVE-2023-4352: Type Confusion in V8.
• [1458046] High CVE-2023-4353: Heap buffer overflow in ANGLE.
• [1464215] High CVE-2023-4354: Heap buffer overflow in Skia.
• [1468943] High CVE-2023-4355: Out of bounds memory access in V8.
• [1449929] Medium CVE-2023-4356: Use after free in Audio.
• [1458911] Medium CVE-2023-4357: Insufficient validation of untrusted input in XML.
• [1466415] Medium CVE-2023-4358: Use after free in DNS.
• [1443722] Medium CVE-2023-4359: Inappropriate implementation in App Launcher.
• [1462723] Medium CVE-2023-4360: Inappropriate implementation in Color.
• [1465230] Medium CVE-2023-4361: Inappropriate implementation in Autofill.
• [1316379] Medium CVE-2023-4362: Heap buffer overflow in Mojom IDL.
• [1367085] Medium CVE-2023-4363: Inappropriate implementation in WebShare.
• [1406922] Medium CVE-2023-4364: Inappropriate implementation in Permission Prompts.
• [1431043] Medium CVE-2023-4365: Inappropriate implementation in Fullscreen.
• [1450784] Medium CVE-2023-4366: Use after free in Extensions.
• [1467743] Medium CVE-2023-4367: Insufficient policy enforcement in Extensions API.
• [1467751] Medium CVE-2023-4368: Insufficient policy enforcement in Extensions API.

As you can see from these fixes, the focus is not just on a single type of vulnerability. Google has patched multiple vulnerabilities discovered by its security team, as well as individual contributors.

Update to Chrome 116

Google Chrome is configured to be updated automatically by default. You can keep browsing the internet while Chrome downloads the newest version for you. It gets installed when you restart the browser.

If you already have Google Chrome installed on your computer, then updating it would be easy. Follow the guide below to update your existing Chrome browser to version 116.

Note: The upgrade will only take place if you are part of the Extended Stable Channel release. There is no way to check, except for checking for the available update using these steps.

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right corner.

   

2. Expand Help and click “About Google Chrome.”

   

3. Once the update is complete, click “Relaunch.”

   

   As soon as the About page opens, the browser will start searching for an update and automatically download it. Once it is ready to install, you will be presented with a Relaunch button. Click Relaunch.

   Note: The browser closes when you click Relaunch and then reopens, restoring all closed tabs.

The browser will now close and reopen. Once it does, you can navigate to the About Google Chrome page again and confirm that it has indeed been updated.

There are a few different methods that can also be used to update your Chrome browser to the latest version, including:

• Update using Google update
• Use the downloaded Chrome installer
• Using Ninite
• Download Chrome without using a browser

You can learn more about these methods in this guidepost.

You may also download the Chrome browser from the links below if you do not already have it.

Note: You may go through the Google Chrome updates blog to check the upcoming features in the beta and dev channels which will then be released to the upcoming version of Chrome 116 next month.

Download Google Chrome 116

Click on the links below to download Chrome 116 for the operating system of your choice:

Download Google Chrome offline installers [Stable, Beta, Dev, Canary]

Download: Google Chrome web installer

Download: Google Chrome offline installer

Download: Google Chrome MSI Installer [Enterprise Edition]

Download: Google Chrome for macOS

Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer for Linux

Download: Google Chrome for Android

Download: Google Chrome for iOS

Download: Google Chrome Portable

Install Google Chrome 116

Installing the Chrome browser on a Windows PC is as easy as downloading them. The process may vary for different platforms.

Download the file from the links above and then double-click it to execute. The rest of the process is pretty much automatic. The setup will download the required files (if the web installer was downloaded), install them for you and the browser will launch itself as soon as it is installed successfully.

The process is the same for all Windows versions.

How to uninstall Google Chrome

On a Windows PC, you can uninstall Google Chrome from the settings app, and the Programs & Features applet.

From the Settings app

1. Navigate to the installed apps tab.

   • In Windows 11:

     Settings app >> Apps >> Installed Apps

   • In Windows 10:

     Settings app >> Apps

2. Search for “Google Chrome.”

3. Click on the 3 dots in front of “Google Chrome.”

   

   On Windows 11, click on the ellipses (3 dots) in front of Chrome.

   On Windows 10, click on “Google Chrome” to expand it.

4. Click Uninstall.

   

5. Click Uninstall again.

   

From Programs and Features

1. Open the Programs and Features applet by typing in “appwiz.cpl” in the Run Command box.

   

2. Double-click “Google Chrome” from the list.

   

   Alternatively, right-click Chrome and then click Uninstall from the context menu.

Google Chrome will now be removed from your PC.

Google Chrome Releases Version History

Chrome Version	Release Date	Features
Chrome 120	29-Nov-23	Auto-grouping of tabs using AI, copy and save video frames, pin side panel elements to toolbar, improved transparent navigation bar on Android
Chrome 119	31-Oct-23	15 security updates, save and sync grouped tabs, smart Omnibox with typo detection, and continue where you left off on another device for iOS.
Chrome 118	10-Oct-23	20 security patches, extended Passkey support, Read Aloud in Reading Mode
Chrome 117	12-Sep-23	New Material You designs, intimation of potentially malicious web store extensions.
Chrome 116	15-Aug-23	Security update cadence changed to weekly from biweekly, One-Time permissions, 26 security patches
Chrome 115	12-Jul-23	Includes Topics API (Privacy Sandbox), reading mode, improved Memory Saver UI, HTTP automatic conversion to HTTPS
Chrome 114	30-May-23	Improves the Google Password Manager, introduces Popover API for developers, and adds auto-verification of CAPTCHAs.
Chrome 113	26-Apr-23	Makes notes in the sidebar, deletes the last 15-minute browsing history on Android, adds a bookmark or translate button in the toolbar on Android, enable or disables all extensions, and WebGPU enabled by default.
Chrome 112	4-Apr-23	Removal of Chrome app support, improved UI (experimental), CSS Nesting, WebAssembly Tail Call
Chrome 111	6-Mar-23	Automatic lazy-loading, sharing selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks
Chrome 110	7-Feb-23	Improved Password Manager and Google Translate controls, Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State, opt-out support for Secure Payment Confirmation
Chrome 109	10-Jan-23	Conditional focus on screen sharing, Material You theming support
Chrome 108	29-Nov-22	Evergy saver mode, COLRv1 fonts, resize virtual keyboards (Android)
Chrome 107	25-Oct-22	HEVC hardware decoding, screen-sharing improvements, and User-Agent reduction (Phase 5)
Chrome 106	28-Sep-22	Selective text translation, integrated RSS reader, and advanced search improvements to Omnibox.
Chrome 105	30-Aug-22	Improvements for web applications in terms of customizations
Chrome 104	2-Aug-22	Automatic lazy-loading, share selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks
Chrome 103	21-Jun-22	Pre-fetch page data for faster loading, local fonts for web apps, and block notifications automatically.
Chrome 102	24-May-22	Extensions Starter Kit, New Keyboard Shortcuts, And Continued Searches
Chrome 101	26-Apr-22	Improved downloads UI, save group tabs, and password manager
Chrome 100	29-Mar-22	Multi-screen API, audio controls
Chrome 99	1-Mar-22	Handwriting Recognition, Date Picker, And Security Improvements
Chrome 98	1-Feb-22	Built-in screenshot tool, smoother emojis with COLRv1, Emojis to screenshots on Android
Chrome 97	4-Jan-22	Delete data saved by websites, zoom settings, better web application layouts, HDR enabled
Chrome 96	15-Nov-21	Faster navigation, dark mode per site, flags for testing v100
Chrome 95	19-Oct-21	Save grouped tabs, secure payments
Chrome 94	21-Sep-21	HTTPS-only mode, sharing hub
Chrome 90	15-Apr-21	AV1 codecs support, window naming feature
		Download Google Chrome Offline Installers [Stable, Beta, Canary]