Spoofing flaw resurfaces in Mozilla browsers

A 7-year-old flaw that could let an attacker place malicious content on trusted Web sites has resurfaced in the most recent Firefox browser, security vendor Secunia has warned.

The flaw, which also affects some other Mozilla Foundation programs, lies in the way the software handles frames, which are a way of showing Web content in separate parts of the browser window. The applications don't check whether the frames displayed in a single window all originate from the same Web site, Secunia said in an advisory on Monday in the US. Firefox 1.x, Mozilla 1.7.x and Camino 0.x versions are vulnerable to the flaw, the security monitoring company said.

As a result, an attacker could insert content into a frame on a trusted Web site, Secunia said. Account holders who believe they are interacting with a frame belonging to an online bank could be tricked into giving up personal information or downloading malicious code, for example. Secunia rated the issue "moderately critical."

The same "frame injection" vulnerability in Mozilla's browsers was detailed by Secunia in July of last year. At the time, it did not affect the most recent versions of the applications.

For a spoofing attempt to work, a surfer would need to have both the attacker's Web site and a trusted Web site open in different windows. A click on a link on the malicious site would then display the attacker's content in a frame on the trusted Web site, Secunia said. The company advised people not to visit trusted and untrusted Web sites at the same time.

The Mozilla Foundation is investigating the Secunia report, a representative for the organization said.

The vulnerability has not been exploited, a moderator of a support forum on the Mozilla Web site wrote Monday, in response to the Secunia alert.

For protection, the moderator advises people to close all other windows and tabs before accessing a Web site such as a bank or online store that requires them to type in personal data.

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Talkback 6 comments

    Now that must be the longest s ...Anonymous -- 07/06/05

    Now that must be the longest standing bug that I can think of, great going guys!!!!

    > Now that must be the long ...Anonymous -- 08/06/05

    > Now that must be the longest standing bug that I can think of, great going guys!!!!

    What are you waiting for? Go and fix it ;-)

    Don't be misled - this is not ...Anonymous -- 08/06/05

    Don't be misled - this is not 7 continuous years.

    The comments by the two previous posters clearly imnply that they do not understand the true meaning of this story. A flaw that had the same effect was discovered 7 years ago - and fixed. A second (similar) flaw has emerged in the latest version, 7 years later.

    Don't be misled by the headline - this is two separate flaws having the same effect that were discovered 7 years apart. As with the previous, this one will also be fixed.

    Don't be misled - this is not ...Anonymous -- 08/06/05

    Don't be misled - this is not 7 continuous years.

    The comments by the two previous posters clearly imply that they do not understand the true meaning of this story. A flaw that had the same effect was discovered 7 years ago - and fixed. A second (similar) flaw has emerged in the latest version, 7 years later.

    Don't be misled by the headline - this is two separate flaws having the same effect that were discovered 7 years apart. As with the previous, this one will also be fixed.

    Go fix it....obviously they ne ...Anonymous -- 09/06/05

    Go fix it....obviously they need help because all those many many eyes making bugs shallow has meant absolutely nothing, then again maybe they didn't actually test the code, taking pages from Linus coding ethics, as previously reported on ZDNet for an X86 pathc he wrote

    "They need help.." D ...Anonymous -- 10/06/05

    "They need help.." Dear John, that's the whole point. If you are truly into ethics, what is your opinion on SELLING - for good hard dollars - software that you know is flawed?

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