The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Security glitch bites IE7 beta

Crash test dummy

Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

Researchers have discovered a security vulnerability in a preview version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) browser just days after its release. A denial of service bug in IE 7 beta 2 creates a means for a hacker to crash the software and potentially execute arbitrary malware on PCs running the code, according to security researcher Tom Ferris. Ferris has produced a proof of concept demo to illustrate his concern that IE 7 beta 2 builds are exposed to the "medium risk" flaw.

Microsoft has responded in a posting on its official IE development blog to confirm the the bug identified by Ferris does crash IE 7. "However, we did not find that the bug was exploitable by default to elevate privilege and run arbitrary code," it said. Microsoft said it identified the bug itself during a code review and that a fix was already in development. Redmond adds that the bug is difficult to exploit and isn't the subject of current hacker attacks.

Other issues with the latest build of the browser have been unearthed during early testing. Compatibility problems with McAfee security software and glitches that cause the browser to crash when visiting certain websites have emerged. Since IE 7 is undergoing beta testing, these kind of bugs are to be expected. ®

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

More from The Register

 breaking news
Number of cops abusing Police National Computer access on the rise
Only a telegram from the Queen can get you off it
 breaking news
NSA PRISM snoop-gate: Won't someone think of the children, wails Apple
10,000 things probed, mostly about missing kids, Alzheimer patients, we're told
Flash flaw potentially makes every webcam or laptop a PEEPHOLE
But it's a Google problem - Chrome only, insists Adobe
 breaking news
NSA PRISM-gate: Relax, GCHQ spooks 'keep us safe', says Cameron
Whatever they are up to, it's all above board, we're told
PRISM snitch claims NSA hacked Chinese targets since 2009
Snowden suddenly looks safer in Hong Kong after revelations
 breaking news
US chief spook: Look, we only want to spy on 6.66 BEELLLION of you
Americans assured they are not in the NSA's sights
Speech-to-text drives motorists to distraction
Will talking to you mean I crash into that car up ahead, Siri?
 breaking news
Yahoo! joins! rivals! in! PRISM! data! request! admission!
Keep calm and carry on using American tech firms, folks
DHS warns of vulns in hospital medical equipment
Has your doctor's anasthesia machine been hacked?
 breaking news
'BadNews is malware' says outfit that found it
Google says code harmless but Lookout says code base is evolving