Bottom line: Google and Microsoft pulled the 1.6-million-times-installed header-editing extension ModHeader after researchers discovered a dormant browsing-history-collector component.
The browser extension ModHeader was removed from Chrome and Edge following the discovery of an inactive data collector. The component was disabled, but was found in the official store version.
Google and Microsoft have removed ModHeader, a popular extension for HTTP header editing with approximately 1.6 million installations on Chrome and Edge, from their app stores. The reason for the action was the discovery of a data collector that could capture browsing histories and was built into the official store version.
The collector component was inactive at the time of discovery. An empty allow list kept it disabled. As of current findings, there is no evidence that this data collector ever actually captured or transmitted browsing domains.
The discovery underscores risks in the security review of browser extensions, even though the dormant component initially appeared to pose no active threat. CISOs should use such findings as an opportunity to audit their extension inventories and tighten usage policies for third-party applications.
Source: thehackernews.com · Published 13 July 2026
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