Security experts are praising the improvements in the latest version of Firefox, which fixes a total of 14 vulnerabilities, five critical, and adds three security-related features.
One of the most important patches in Firefox 14, released this week by Mozilla, is one that
fixes a flaw within the sandbox, where the Web browser executes JavaScript, a common exploit by hackers. The vulnerability enabled an attacker to run scripts outside the sandbox with elevated privileges.
Running scripts found on web pages in sandboxes is a trend among makers of browsers. The special containers limit applications to accessing only the services they need.
The Firefox patch is important because hackers have been focusing on finding holes in sandboxes, Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer of Qualys, said. "People are testing their boundaries and how they can escape those boundaries," he said.
Another
critical patch fixes a flaw that would allow a hacker to bypass the browsers same-compartment security wrappers, or SCSW. The feature prevents a web page from executing code outside of the page's context.
