Mozilla Firefox has discovered a security flaw that steals files from infected devices. The security problem has been unveiled by Mozilla Firefox in its official security blog on Saturday, August 7. Subsequently, fixes for the newfound vulnerability have also been indicated by the company. The flaw has been discovered by a Mozilla user while using the company browser.
According to a report from Yibada, the flaw emerges on the browser as an advertisement for a Russian website. The bug then exploits the user's files then sends them over to be uploaded to a website reportedly hosted in Ukraine. The vulnerability is found to target developer files, an example of which is Windows' "File Transfer Protocols". This may imply that personal files are not affected, but the hack is threatening nonetheless.
To get rid of the security flaw, Mozilla urges its users to update to the newest Mozilla Firefox version. This applies for all the browser's users, to avoid potential exploitation brought by the bug. On August 5, the company has released the Mozilla Firefox version 39.0.3. The latest version has a fix for the malicious flaw. The security problem affects Windows and Linux users. Androids and Macs are unaffected since they lack the browser's PDF viewer.
To update to the newest version of the browser, click on the Help button on the browser's menu bar. Look for settings then click on 'update to 39.0.3'. The option will then prompt users to get automatic updates for the new version, and then restart the device to get the newest version of the browser.
Mozilla Firefox is not the only victim of security flaws this week. Search engine Yahoo has similarly been affected by advertisement campaign, in which malware is disguised as ads in the widely-used website. Android device users have also been victimized by Stagefright, a bug that has affected over ninety percent of all android devices. The affected parties have since issued fixes for the infected devices.
