‘Carpet bombing’ vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.
Microsoft
, whose
Internet Explorer
has come under frequent criticism for security vulnerabilities, has issued a security advisory alerting users of arch-rival
Apple
‘s
Safari
browser to a potential security threat.
The issue is a blended threat which combines quirks in both the
Apple
browser product and the
Windows
desktop, and can lead
Safari
users to seeing their desktops plastered with files and possibly risk execution of unwanted software, if maliciously crafted sites are browsed to.
The
Safari
browser lacks user controls over downloading of content, which can lead to the desktop being peppered with files as instructions on web pages are obeyed without question. It would not be difficult, researchers have argued, to attach fake icons to downloaded executables and trick users into executing them in the belief that they are innocent files or system staples such as ‘My Computer’.
Apple
‘s reported response to queries from Nitesh Dhanjani, the researcher who spotted the flaw, included the assertion that they are ‘not treating this as a security issue’. This attitude caused considerable outcry when the issue first emerged two weeks ago, and now
Microsoft
has heightened awareness of the danger and advised users of
Safari
on
Windows
platforms to minimise their use of the browser until a fix is released. Currently, this is not expected to come from
Apple
at least until the next full version of
Safari
, due by September, but the wording of the
Microsoft
alert hinted that they may possibly implement their own means of reducing the danger at some point should
Apple
fail to do so.
Apple
and
Safari
have recently been embroiled in security controversy after the browser was included as an unsolicited part of the
Apple
update system. Nitesh Dhajani’s original alert on the ‘carpet bombing’ problem is
here
, and
Microsoft
‘s advisory to users is
here
.
Posted on 03 June 2008 by
Virus Bulletin
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