Fix Created for Critical IE Browser Bug
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A group of software engineers who specialize in cracking code has delivered a patch for the new "zero day" flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, beating Redmond to the punch in addressing the critical vulnerability.
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The &quot;highly critical&quot; vulnerabilities stem from a flaw in IE&#39;s drag-and-drop feature and in the browser&#39;s security zone.
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(InfoWorld) - Mozilla patched its flagship Firefox browser Thursday with fixes for six vulnerabilities, one of which was stamped "critical" by the open-source developer. This was the third time Mozilla has updated Firefox in 2007. The updates bring the current browser to Version 2.0.0.4 and the 2005 edition to 1.5.0.12. MFSA 2007-12, the most serious of the six, patched 30 separate memory corruption bugs in the browser layout and JavaScript engines. Even Mozilla seemed unsure of their impact. "Some of these crashes showed evidence of memory corruption under certain circumstances, and we presume that with enough effort, at least some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code," the advisory read. Mozilla warned Thunderbird and SeaMonkey that their e-mail software, which shares Firefox's layout engine, may be vulnerable to these bugs as well. The developers recommend that users do not enable JavaScript in Thunderbird or the mail portion of SeaMonkey. The updates also fix a pop-up bug that could be used to mask parts of the browser, such as the address bar; a cross-site scripting vulnerability; a problem with how the browsers handle cookies; and a flaw that could let attackers crash Firefox using its autocomplete feature. Firefox 2.0.0.4 can be downloaded from the Mozilla Web site for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux; Firefox 1.5.0.12, meanwhile, is available from a different page. Current users can also update using the Check for Updates command in the help menu. Mozilla also reiterated that Thursday's patches would be Firefox 1.5's last and said that an update to Firefox 2.0.0.4 would be offered to its users "over the coming weeks." Although Firefox ended 2006 on an upbeat security note according to Symantec -- the anti-virus vendor tallied 40 patches in the last six months of the year, 26 percent fewer than the 54 released for rival browser Internet Explorer -- so far this year, Mozilla has addressed more than twice as many vulnerabilities as IE. In the first five months of 2007, 22 bugs in Firefox have been patched, nine of which were pegged as critical. Microsoft has fixed only eight in IE; seven were labeled critical.
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Microsoft today released an out-of-cycle security bulletin and patch for a critical hole in Internet Explorer that is already being widely exploited by attackers.
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Microsoft has issued a formal fix for a problem in Windows XP Service Pack 2 that appeared almost immediately after the update&#39;s release.
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Microsoft's recent set of security patches is causing problems, namely for Internet Explorer 6 users, who are watching their browsers crash midstream when visiting some sites. Redmond has offered a technical workaround to solve the problem until a more formal fix can be developed.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft Corp. just can't seem to shake problems with itsÂ MS06-042 update for Internet Explorer. On Tuesday, Microsoft was forced toÂ release its third version of the update because of a new security bug discovered in the update, according to Tony Chor, a group program manager with Microsoft. First released on August 8, the critical patch fixes a handful of problems with the browser, but it has caused headaches for some users. Embarrassingly, it also introduced a security vulnerability into the browser, which was fixed last month. "The original release of MS06-042 introduced a new security vulnerability for IE 6.0 SP1 users which we addressed in a subsequent re-release," he wrote in aÂ Tuesday blog posting. "However... a similar vulnerability was also discovered in IE5.01 on Windows 2000, IE 6.0 SP1 (in a different location), and the original release of Windows Server 2003." Microsoft customers ran into problems with MS06-042 soon after it was released. Web sites that used HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 1.1 compression to speed up the downloading of images could cause the browser to fail and users of Web-based applications such as PeopleSoft, Siebel, and Sage CRM had problems with the software. Later in August, securityÂ researchers at eEye Digital Security Inc.Â disclosed that Microsoft had introduced a new critical security vulnerability in the update. Two days later Microsoft fixed the eEye bug in the MS06-042 re-release. Apparently this re-release did not address this latest but "similar" vulnerability mentioned by Chor. Microsoft executives could not be reached immediately for comment. Microsoft often re-issues its security updates to fix minor bugs, but the security issue discovered by eEye placed a lot more scrutiny on MS06-042. Ultimately the update proved to be an ordeal for Microsoft's Security Response Center, and for Microsoft customers.
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SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released a patch to fix a critical security flaw that could allow an attacker to infiltrate someone else&#39;s computer, if the user was persuaded to open a specialized file.
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Microsoft has released a "critical" patch to fix a security flaw affecting how Windows, Office and developer tools software programs process images in the JPEG image format.
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Microsoft rushed out a patch to fix a hole in its IE browser software that was being widely exploited.
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A newly reported security problem in Microsoft&#39;s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser allows attackers to create a fake website that looks exactly like a genuine site.
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Microsoft releases critical Explorer patch VNUNet.com
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Mozilla will patch Firefox but Microsoft won't update IE--and each points fingers for the problem.
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Over on our sister site, AjaxDeveloper.org today, there's a note about the latest release of Joshua Eichorn's HTML_AJAX PEAR package - version 0.3.1.    HTML_AJAX 0.3.1 is out, lots of good bug fixes, and iframe fallback support for Opera and IE with activeX turned off.  More details are available on the release notes on the wiki.  Feature wise were getting close to beta release, its mainly getting a browser compatability test suite added in and doing some basic API review. If you have experience supporting an API without breaking bc, it would be great to get your feedback on HTML_AJAX.    In the release notes, there's mention of several bugs with Internet Explorer implementations and some yet unsolved problems (IE memory leaks and table support in Konqueror). Check out the rest of the notes for more of the bugs and issues they've taken care of...
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Sample code that exploits a yet-to-be-fixed Windows flaw is circulating. Microsoft plans to deal with it on the next Patch Tuesday.
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(InfoWorld) - Hackers areÂ intensifying their attacks on Internet Explorer users, increasing the chances that Microsoft Corp. will patch a critical flaw in the software ahead of its regularly scheduled Oct. 10 security update. On Sunday, hackers released sample code showing how to exploit the IE flaw on a fully patched version of Windows XP, a move that security experts believe will step up the attacks.Â Criminals have been taking advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability in cPanel Inc. software, widely used by Web hosting providers, to install the IE malware on Web servers. The Microsoft bug has to do with the way IE processes Web-based graphics code written in the Vector Markup Language (VML). It wasÂ first reported Monday Sept. 18 by researchers at Sunbelt Software Inc., who found that attackers were exploiting this vulnerability on a number ofÂ pornographic Web sites. Late last week, attackers started spreading their attack code by taking advantage of a second flaw in cPanel's Web hosting administration software. This product is used by Web hosting providers to give their customers an easy way to administer their Web sites. Hackers were able to exploit this problem to gain access to servers at hosting provider HostGator.com LLC and began adding malicious VML exploit code to the Web pages of HostGator's clients, starting late Thursday. In fact, the attackers had used the cPanel flaw to gain control of HostGator's servers weeks before the VML vulnerability was disclosed, according to Brent Oxley, CEO of HostGator.com, based in Boca Raton, Florida. "They took control of as many servers as they could and they were building an army." Oxley said."They waited idly for a month and when the Microsoft exploit came out that's when they launched the attack." HostGator servers are used to host about 500,000 Web sites, but not all were compromised. Oxley estimated that "thousands" were, however, and said that a number of other hosting providers have also fallen victim to the cPanel attack. The cPanel flaw has now been patched and HostGator.com customers are no longer serving up the VML exploits, but security experts wonder how widespread the cPanel compromise has been. "It's a little worrisome that these hackers appeared to be targeting that piece of software," said Rich Miller, an analyst with Netcraft Inc. "It's very common among large hosting companies." Whether or not these latest developments are worrisome to Microsoft is unclear. The company declined to comment on the matter Monday, referring reporters to aÂ Friday blog postingÂ by Microsoft Security Response Center Operations Manager Scott Deacon in which he said that his company was increasingly confident on its ability to release an early patch.Â  "Thereâs been some confusion about that, that somehow attacks are dramatic and widespread," Deacon wrote Friday. "Weâre just not seeing that from our data, and our Microsoft Security Response Alliance partners arenât seeing that at all either," he said. "Of course, that could change at any moment," Deacon added. Sunbelt Software agreed that the VML bug has not yet been widely exploited, but Sunbelt Vice President of Research and Development Eric Sites predicted that Microsoft would release an early patch. "I think this week will be a lot more active because of the new proof-of-concept codes coming out," he said. On Monday, security researchers reported that attackers were staring to send out spam in hopes of luring victims to malicious Web sites. One attack tells victims that they've received a "Yahoo! Greeting Card," and invites them to click on a link. The link takes the victim to a Web site that installs code that collects information on the victim's online activity. More information on this attack can be foundÂ here. As a temporary workaround, Microsoft's has advised users to unregister the dll used to render VML images. Information on how to do this, along with otherÂ possible workarounds for the problem can be found here. Although it is not recommended by Microsoft, aÂ patch for the bug was released by a group of security researchers on Friday. ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Critical bug-fixes ship for Internet Explorer, DirectX, and Windows Media Format technology.