While Microsoft scrambled to issue an out-of-cycle patch for Internet Explorer on Wednesday, Mozilla did some rushing of its own.
The Firefox developer has issued updates to address “critical vulnerabilities” in versions 2 and 3 of its open-source browser.
Firefox describes a critical vulnerability as one that can be used to run attacker code and install software without user interaction beyond normal browsing.
Security, Stability, Accessibility
Firefox 3.0.5 and Firefox 2.0.0.19 are now available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Firefox 3.0.5 fixes eight security vulnerabilities, three of them critical. The critical fixes include XSS vulnerabilities in SessionStore, XSS and JavaScript privilege escalation, and crashes with evidence of memory corruption.
The Firefox 3.0.5 update also fixes several stability issues and issues found in accessibility implementation, adds the ability to send OS-specific system notes in the crash reporter, and replaces the End-User License Agreement with a new “Know Your Rights” info bar on the initial installation. With Firefox 3.0.5, the browser becomes available in Bengali, Esperanto, Galician, Hindi and Latvian.
Discontinuing Firefox 2 Support
“Mozilla is not planning any further security and stability updates for Firefox 2, and recommends that you upgrade to Firefox 3 as soon as possible. It’s free, and your settings and bookmarks will be preserved,” the Firefox advisory said.
Firefox 2.0.0.19 fixes 10 bugs in the browser, four of which are critical. The critical patches fix XSS vulnerabilities in the SessionStore, XSS and JavaScript privilege escalation, additional XSS attack vectors in feed preview, and crashes with evidence of memory corruption.
“Also, the Phishing Protection service will no longer be available for Firefox 2 users,” Firefox said. “Firefox 3 offers a free Phishing and Malware Protection service, which will continue to protect you from online scams and attacks.”