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Mozilla, Netscape Hole Reported

Netscape prepares fix for flaw that permits remote viewing of text on users' PCs.

Sam Costello, IDG News Service

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A security hole in the Netscape Navigator and Mozilla Web browsers could allow an attacker to view documents on a user's PC, according to a security advisory released Tuesday by Israeli security group GreyMagic Software.

Netscape acknowledged the vulnerability Wednesday. Its engineers are working to fix the problem, according to Andrew Weinstein, spokesperson for AOL Time Warner, Netscape's parent company.

"We expect to have a resolution in the near future," he said.

Similar to IE Flaw

The vulnerability affects the XMLHttpRequest component of both Navigator and Mozilla, which is used primarily to retrieve XML documents from Web servers, GreyMagic said. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending Web browsers to a Web site that included hostile code, which would then allow the attacker to view documents on the users' hard drive, the group said.

Microsoft Internet Explorer browser was vulnerable to a less serious version of the same attack, which Microsoft patched in February.

The Navigator and Mozilla vulnerability affects versions 6.1 and higher of Navigator and version 0.9.7 to 0.9.9 of Mozilla.

The scope of the vulnerability will likely be limited by the number of users who run either Netscape or Mozilla. Netscape holds about 7 percent of the worldwide market for Web browsers, according to research firm WebSideStory. Mozilla, an open-source Web browser whose first final version has yet to ship, commands a smaller market share.

Mozilla was created after Netscape made its source code available to developers in 1998. AOL Time Warner uses much of the same code that powers Mozilla in Navigator.

Bug Hunters Gripe

GreyMagic's advisory also came peppered with harsh words for Netscape, which GreyMagic says reneged on a pledge to give $1000 per serious bug discovered by researchers. GreyMagic said that Netscape had ignored e-mail sent by the group detailing this vulnerability and warned that from now on GreyMagic would release any bugs it finds in Netscape without contacting the company and would recommend against using its browser.

For its part, Weinstein said that Netscape did acknowledge GreyMagic's e-mail, but that the group submitted its report last Wednesday and waited only until the folowing Monday to release the report publicly.

"Our bug bounty program remains robust and we encourage anyone who discovers (a bug) to bring it to our attention," he said.

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