Opera patches usurped by new threat
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Web security experts exploited a new flaw in the Opera browser on the same day that the software developer released a patch to address three existing vulnerabilities.
Network security analysts at ZDNet noted that discussion of the zero-day flaw began on the Full Disclosure mailing list.
Within hours, researcher Aviv Raff had posted a proof-of-concept exploit which arbitrarily launched the calculator program on Windows machines when users clicked on a maliciously crafted link.
"I can confirm that a separate exploit exists that launches harmful code remotely against fully patched versions of the Opera browser," warned ZDNet's Ryan Naraine.
The website urged people to discontinue use of the browser until a new fix is made available or avoid clicking on links on untrusted websites.
Aviv Raff also hit the headlines last month after demonstrating proof of concepts that exposed data security vulnerabilities in the Google Chrome browser just hours after it was released.
One built upon the previously discovered Safari carpet-bombing flaw and the other exploited Java defects to trick people into launching executables.
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