Google Brings 37 Security Fixes to Chrome 90

Google this week released Chrome 90 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The update, which will roll out over the coming days and weeks, brings 37 security fixes, HTTPS by default, and other updates to the browser.

Chrome 90.0.4430.72 fixes six high-severity vulnerabilities, 10 medium-severity vulnerabilities, and three low-severity flaws reported by external security researchers, in addition to fixes for flaws discovered by its internal team. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) made note of these patches in an advisory published today.

Google reported last month that in version 90, Chrome's address bar would use https:// by default. Before, if a person typed "example.com" into the address bar, the browser would choose http:// as the default protocol – with the exception of websites in the HSTS preload list, which Chrome will always default to HTTPS.

In Chrome 90, the browser will now default to HTTPS for most typed websites that don't specify a protocol. IP addresses, single label domains, and reserved hostnames such as test/ or localhost/ will continue to default to HTTP, Google notes in a blog post on the change. For sites that don't support HTTPS, Chrome will fall back to HTTP when the HTTPS attempt fails.

The HTTPS change will first appear on Chrome Desktop and Chrome for Android in version 90, with a release for Chrome on iOS following "soon after," Google reports.

Read more details about Chrome 90 here.