Mozilla's Firefox browser is susceptible to a buffer
overflow attack that is deemed 'highly critical', users have been warned.
The flaw was discovered by security expert Tom Ferris and affects all
versions of the open source browser up to 1.0.6, as well as the
beta for
Firefox 1.5, he
reported on his
website.
The vulnerability allows an attacker to remotely execute code on a
compromised system through a
buffer
overflow attack.
Demonstrating the vulnerability, Ferris offers a link to a page where a
specially crafted URL will cause the browser to freeze and eventually crash,
closing all browser windows. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is unaffected by the
flaw.
Ferris reported the issue to Mozilla on 4 September, but allegedly decided to
go public after a disagreement with the organisation.
Firefox uses its record on security as a principal selling point in enticing
users to switch from Internet Explorer. But although Microsoft's browser has
been hit with a series of vulnerabilities, Firefox has also had its
share of problems recently.
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