Google has released critical security updates for Google Chrome to address twenty-one (21) vulnerabilities, including the actively exploited zero-day CVE-2026-5281, a high-severity use-after-free flaw in Dawn, the browser’s WebGPU implementation, which allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML page. Google confirmed in-the-wild exploitation but has withheld technical details to limit further weaponization. This vulnerability is part of a broader cluster of memory safety issues patched in the same release, with nineteen (19) high-severity flaws spanning key components such as CSS, GPU, V8, WebGL, WebCodecs, Web MIDI, WebView, Navigation, Compositing, and Dawn itself. Many involving use-after-free conditions, buffer overflows, and object corruption, underscoring persistent systemic risk within browser rendering pipelines. Notably, several vulnerabilities were identified internally by Google, indicating ongoing proactive threat hunting, while the volume and severity of issues signal heightened exploitation pressure. This marks the fourth Chrome zero-day actively exploited in 2026. The updates bring Chrome to version 146.0.7680.177/178 (Windows and macOS) and 146.0.7680.177 (Linux), and users (including those on Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi) are strongly urged to apply patches immediately. Additionally, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added CVE-2026-5281 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, mandating remediation for federal agencies by no later than April 15, 2026, further reinforcing the urgency of patching across both enterprise and government environments.