Secunia claims second IE7 flaw

IDG News Service - Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 7 browser could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser.

The bug allows hackers to place a fake Web address in one of the browser's pop-up Windows to trick a victim into inadvertently downloading something from what appears to be a trusted Web site. Secunia has described the flaw in an advisory.

Based on its initial investigation, Microsoft believes that there is "an issue," a spokesman at the company's public relations agency said in an e-mail.

While the full URL of the Web page being displayed is present in the pop-up Window's address bar, the left part of the URL is not initially displayed, the spokesman said.

That problem could allow an attacker to spoof a legitimate Web site, Secunia said.

Microsoft's confirmation may come as a relief to Secunia, which reported another problem in IE7 just hours after the browser was released. Microsoft said Secunia's report was "technically inaccurate," however, because the flaw lay in a component of Microsoft's Outlook Express e-mail client, which could be triggered by the browser. Microsoft's comment on the issue can be found here.

Neither of the bugs is considered to be critical. But coming so soon after IE7's launch, they are somewhat of an embarrassment to Microsoft, which has made much of its focus on delivering secure software.

Secunia was surprised that Microsoft called its first report erroneous, given that the flaw can be triggered only through the browser, said Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer.

"From a technical point of view, Microsoft might be right. But from a user's point of view or an administrator's point of view, it doesn't really matter. IE is the vector," he said. "It was probably unnecessary to go out and try to blame Outlook in that way."