Computerworld - Just a day after it released Firefox 3.0.2 to fix 11 vulnerabilities, Mozilla Corp. said that an overlooked password bug requires a fast-track update it hopes to launch next week.

Late Wednesday, Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director of Firefox, said that the bug, which prevents some users from accessing their browser-saved passwords, means another update is necessary. "While this doesn't affect all Firefox users, it is a significant regression and has triggered a fast-release Firefox 3.0.3 which will contain a single fix," Beltzner said in a message to the mozilla.dev.planning group.

The bug popped up in Firefox 3.0.2, which Mozilla released Tuesday, after developers added a fix to make the browser's password manager work on international domain name (IDN) sites. IDN sites are those that have non-ASCII characters in their URLs, such as addresses with Arabic, Hebrew or Chinese characters, or ones with non-English diacritical marks.

According to Beltzner, users who have saved passwords on IDN sites or some non-English domains will be unable to access those passwords or save any new passwords after updating to Firefox 3.0.2.

"There is no permanent data loss, the saved data is just inaccessible," Beltzner noted.

Regression bugs aren't unknown to Mozilla or Firefox. Last November, the company rushed a release out the door to fix five bugs it had introduced in the previous version of the browser, which had been posted for download about a week before.

A fix for the password regression bug has been crafted and is being tested, Beltzner added.

Read more about security in Computerworld's Security Knowledge Center.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Mozilla

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know

Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.

WHITE PAPER

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009

The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.

WHITE PAPER

Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing

Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

3 comments | Add new

See all comments (3) | Add new

White Papers & Webcasts

Death to PST Files
Download Now

Business Process Framework Demo
Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now!

A Green Architectural Strategy That Puts IT in the Black
Levergage green computing across your data center. Read more now.

Manager Experience Demo
Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now.

Quantifying the Business Value of VMware View
Learn why you should invest in a centralized virtual desktop.

WAN Optimization as a Managed Service: More than Network Cost Savings
View this Webcast Now!

Forrester Consulting Mobility Study: Taking Control of Enterprise Mobile Device Diversity
Download Now

Asia-Pacific Enterprise Network Solutions
Learn through this Webcast how your business can achieve reliability, performance and value in hard-to-reach locations within the Asia-Pacific region.

What IT Must Do to Support Employee-Owned BlackBerry, iPhone and Android Mobile Devices
Download Now

Mainsoft Webcast w/ Forrester Research: Drive SharePoint Adoption in Lotus Notes Shops
How can you drive mainstream user adoption of Microsoft SharePoint when your users rely on Lotus Notes?

All White Papers | All Webcasts

Computerworld Reports

8 Questions To Ask About Your Intrusion-Security Solution

Computerworld Technology Briefing: More than Business Value

Computerworld Briefing: Staffing for Intelligence

All Computerworld Reports

Disaster Recovery & Cost Savings Zone
Thousands of customers world-wide have turned to virtualization solutions from Riverbed as a way to reduce costs.