Google has released an urgent security update for its Chrome browser to address a high-severity zero-day vulnerability actively exploited in the wild, marking the first such flaw patched in 2026.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-2441 and assigned a CVSS severity score of 8.8, is a use-after-free bug in Chrome’s CSS handling. It allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the browser’s sandbox via a specially crafted HTML page, potentially leading to full compromise of affected systems if combined with other exploits.

Google confirmed the flaw was discovered and reported by security researcher Shaheen Fazim on Feb. 11, 2026. The company acknowledged that exploits for CVE-2026-2441 exist in the wild but provided no further details on the nature of attacks, affected victims or the threat actors involved.

The patch arrived in a Stable channel update released Feb. 13, 2026. Updated versions include:

• Windows and macOS: 145.0.7632.75/76 (with later point releases up to 145.0.7632.77 as of Feb. 18-19)
• Linux: 144.0.7559.75 (with subsequent builds reaching 145.0.7632.109 in some logs)

More recent Android and iOS releases align with Chrome 145.0.7632.109 and 145.0.7632.108, respectively, incorporating equivalent security fixes. Extended Stable channel users received updates to 144.0.7559.220.

Google’s Chrome Releases blog emphasized that the update “will roll out over the coming days/weeks,” a standard phased deployment to minimize disruptions. Cybersecurity experts and outlets including Forbes, The Hacker News, Malwarebytes and BleepingComputer urged users not to wait for automatic rollout.

To check and install the update manually, users should open Chrome, click the three-dot menu, navigate to Help > About Google Chrome, and allow the browser to download and apply any available patches. A relaunch is typically required to activate the fix.

This zero-day follows a pattern of rapid browser vulnerabilities in early 2026. Industry analysts note that use-after-free errors in rendering engines like Blink (Chrome’s core) remain common attack vectors due to the complexity of CSS and font processing.

Experts recommend restarting Chrome after updating to ensure the patched version loads. Users on outdated builds remain vulnerable until the update applies and the browser restarts.

Beyond the security fix, Chrome 145 introduced several enhancements. Developer notes highlight reduced User-Agent strings by default following the removal of the UserAgentReduction policy, improving privacy by limiting fingerprinting data sent to websites. Other changes include stability improvements, performance optimizations and under-the-hood updates to PDFium and other components.

Chrome maintains its position as the world’s most popular browser, powering billions of users across desktops, mobiles and enterprise environments. The rapid response to CVE-2026-2441 underscores Google’s commitment to timely patching, especially for actively exploited issues.

No additional vulnerabilities were detailed in the Feb. 13 advisory, though ongoing internal tracking suggests potential follow-up fixes. Google restricts full bug details until widespread patching occurs, a practice aimed at reducing exploitation risks.

Cybersecurity professionals advise enabling automatic updates where possible and exercising caution with unknown websites or links. Organizations using Chrome Enterprise or Education editions should monitor admin consoles for rollout status.

As threats evolve, browser updates remain a critical layer of defense. Users are encouraged to verify their version immediately—navigate to chrome://version in the address bar—to confirm protection against CVE-2026-2441.

Google continues to invest in sandboxing, site isolation and other mitigations to limit damage from potential exploits. This incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between browser developers and adversaries targeting web platforms.

With millions potentially at risk before full deployment, the message is clear: Update Chrome now to stay secure.

Walmart said on Thursday that holiday-quarter sales rose nearly 6% and its quarterly earnings and revenue surpassed Wall Street’s expectations as gains in e-commerce, advertising and its third-party marketplace boosted its business.

For the full current fiscal year, Walmart said it expects net sales to increase by 3.5% to 4.5% and adjusted earnings per share to range from $2.75 to $2.85. That earnings outlook fell short of Wall Street’s expectations of $2.96 per share, according to LSEG. 

In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said speedy deliveries from stores are helping Walmart attract more shoppers, particularly those with higher incomes. 

“Our ability to serve customers at the scale that we have, combined with the speed that we now have, is really translating into continued market share gains,” he said.

He said the company’s market share gains cut across all incomes, but were larger among upper-income households. For example, with fashion, a category that grew by a mid-single digit percentage in the fourth quarter, almost all of that increase came from households with an annual income over $100,000, he said.

In the coming months, Rainey said he expects price increases from inflation and President Donald Trump‘s tariff hikes to ease. Food inflation at Walmart in the fourth quarter was just above 1%, while it was slightly higher for general merchandise, he said.

“It seems to be a little bit more of a normalized price environment,” he said. “I think we have, largely as a retail industry, absorbed or seen the brunt of the impact from tariffs.”

While that comment is welcome news to many U.S. shoppers who buy at the country’s largest grocer, it may be too early to say what pricing trends at the retailer mean for the rest of the economy. Though Walmart is viewed as a key barometer for the wider retail industry, it traditionally has had more power than its competitors to keep prices low in part because of its scale.

Here is what the big-box retailer reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 74 cents adjusted vs. 73 cents expected
• Revenue:  $190.66 billion vs. $190.43 billion expected

Shares of Walmart were slightly positive early on Thursday, after falling in premarket trading.

Yet as of Wednesday’s close, shares of the company have climbed about 22% over the past year and about 14% so far this year. That’s outpaced the S&P 500′s 12% gains over the past year and less than 1% gains year to date.

Walmart’s results Thursday also show an inflection point in the industry. For the first time, Amazon topped Walmart as the largest retailer by annual revenue, as the company posted $716.9 billion in sales for its most recent fiscal year compared with $713.2 billion for Walmart.

The companies aren’t an exact comparison, as Amazon gets a sizeable piece of its revenue from cloud computing and other tech services. Yet it underscores the competition between the two rivals, particularly as Walmart follows a similar playbook by growing revenue streams outside of brick-and-mortar retail, like from ads and its marketplace.

In the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, Walmart’s net income decreased to $4.24 billion, or 53 cents per share, compared to $5.25 billion, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items like investment gains and losses, legal settlements and business reorganization, Walmart’s adjusted earnings per share were 74 cents.

Revenue rose from $180.55 billion in the year-ago quarter. 

Comparable sales jumped 4.6% for Walmart’s U.S. business and 4% for Sam’s Club in the fourth quarter, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period. The industry metric, also called same-store sales, includes sales from stores and clubs open for at least a year.

Walmart’s e-commerce sales in the U.S. rose 27% compared with the year-ago period, fueled by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery of online orders,, along with the retailer’s third-party marketplace. That marked the company’s 15th straight quarter of double-digit digital gains. Global e-commerce sales increased 24% year over year.

For the company’s U.S. business, e-commerce accounted for 23% of sales – a record high for Walmart. The digital growth in the quarter included an approximately 50% gain in store-fulfilled deliveries and a roughly 41% increase in sales from Walmart Connect, its advertising business, the company said.

While Walmart is gaining ground, its growth is not evenly distributed across income groups.

In the interview with CNBC, Rainey said the company does “see some pressure on the lowest income cohort.” He said Walmart has tracked year-over-year spending trends by income group. Like in the prior quarter, he said it saw that spending among the highest earners compared to lower-income groups “had gapped out a little bit.”

The trend he described reflects what some economists have called the “K-shaped economy.”

Walmart’s quarterly report marked the first under its new CEO John Furner. Furner, the former Walmart U.S. CEO and a more than three-decade company veteran, succeeded Doug McMillon as Walmart’s top executive on Feb. 1.

Investors largely expect Furner to focus on similar priorities as his predecessor McMillon, such as increasing Walmart’s online business, attracting more customers across incomes and ramping up higher-margin businesses like its third-party marketplace and advertising.

Along with getting a new CEO, Walmart has hit other milestones lately. Its stock switched to the tech-heavy Nasdaq in December and its market value hit $1 trillion earlier this month.

Along with its results Thursday, Walmart also announced a new $30 billion share repurchase authorization, replacing a $20 billion buyback program approved in 2022.

As of Wednesday’s close, shares of the company have climbed about 22% over the past year and about 14% so far this year. That’s outpaced the S&P 500′s 12% gains over the past year and less than 1% gains year to date.