Netscape Fixes More Security Issues

AOL on Tuesday issued a minor update to Netscape that fixes four critical security vulnerabilities, which could open the browser to code execution attacks. Version 8.0.3.1 also corrects problems with the history function of the browser when switching between rendering engines.

One of Netscape's main features is the ability to switch between Internet Explorer and Firefox-based rendering engines on the fly.

Security firm Secunia called the vulnerabilities "highly critical," and urged users to upgrade to the latest Netscape release.

"Some vulnerabilities have been reported in Netscape, where some have unknown impacts and others can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system," the firm wrote in an advisory.

One of the vulnerabilities allows a hacker to execute code through the "set as wallpaper" function. The hacker could gain access to a user's system through a specially formatted JavaScript URL. Other problems with the way the browser handles JavaScript-formatted URLs contributed to another vulnerability.

Secunia has issued at least three other advisories relating to vulnerabilities within the revived Netscape browser, some of which still have not been addressed according to the security firm.

Netscape said on it's Web site that the easiest way to prevent security issues is to keep the browser up-to-date.