Google and Microsoft Pull ModHeader With 1.6 Million Installs After Dormant Collector Found

Google and Microsoft removed the ModHeader browser extension, which had approximately 1.6 million installs, after researchers discovered a dormant browsing-history collector embedded in its code. The collector, capable of gathering and exfiltrating encrypted browsing data, was inactive due to an empty allow-list but could be activated remotely via a routine update. The extension had been pinging tracking domains and logging request metadata, raising concerns about supply chain integrity and the stealthy potential of signed, popular extensions to harvest user data.

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