Google Chrome 18 Fixes Flash and Canvas2D

Among the “big fix” items in the new Chrome 18.0.1025.151 release is a Flash player security update, that only Google Chrome is receiving. Google Chrome is the only browser that directly integrates Adobe Flash.

“The Chrome update includes fixes to two memory corruption vulnerabilities that were specific to Adobe Flash Player integrated with Google Chrome,” Wiebke Lips, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications at Adobe, told eSecurityPlanet. “In other words, these vulnerabilities do not impact Flash Player for any other browser or platform.”

The Flash player flaws were additional vulnerabilities that were initially fixed in an Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.228 update issued at the end of March. That update ushered in silent updates for Windows users of Flash Player on Firefox and Internet Explorer. Google’s Chrome browser has provided silent updates for the integrated browser and flash solution since its initial release.

While security is always a top concern in Google Chrome updates, so too are bug fixes. In Chrome 18.0.1025.151, Google is fixing a Canvas 2D drawing bug related to GPU acceleration. Canvas 2D is an HTML5 element that enables interactive content to run in a browser. As part of the initial Chrome 18 release, Google debuted GPU hardware based acceleration for Canvas 2D in an effort to enable more complex and detailed HTML5 games on Chrome.

Read the full story at eSecurityPlanet:
Google Patches Chrome 18 for Flash Flaws

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.