Mozilla issues new Firefox update to fix add-ons problems and warns users not to try dubious workarounds

Mozilla has pushed out Firefox 66.0.4, properly addressing a problem that prevented add-ons from working in the web browser.

On Friday, an expired security certificate caused frustration and confusion for Firefox users as extensions were disabled and rendered unusable. Having delivered a patch through its Studies system (which did not work for everyone), Mozilla has now issued a browser update which it says will fix the problem for more people, although it warns that "there are remaining issues that we are actively working to resolve".

See also:

• Mozilla explains why Firefox add-ons stopped working... and how to fix the problem
• Mozilla bans Firefox add-ons with obfuscated code
• Mozilla is launching curated Recommended Extensions program this summer

In an update to an earlier blog post, Mozilla product manager Kevin Needham writes: "A Firefox release has been pushed -- version 66.0.4 on Desktop and Android, and version 60.6.2 for ESR. This release repairs the certificate chain to re-enable web extensions, themes, search engines, and language packs that had been disabled (Bug 1549061). There are remaining issues that we are actively working to resolve, but we wanted to get this fix out before Monday to lessen the impact of disabled add-ons before the start of the week".

Mozilla also tweeted about the release, saying:

Hello! We just released an update to fix this. Learn how to update Firefox here: https://t.co/3OO6P1bFm5. More information is available at https://t.co/krOGrkjbEa. Thank you for your patience. -AT

— Firefox ? (@firefox) May 6, 2019

Mozilla acknowledges that the previous fix issued through the Studies system did not work for everyone, but strongly advises against using any workarounds that have been suggested online:

Some users are reporting that they do not have the "hotfix-update-xpi-signing-intermediate-bug-1548973" study active in "about:studies". Rather than using workarounds, which can lead to issues later on, we strongly recommend that you continue to wait. If it's possible for you to receive the hotfix, you should get it by 6am EDT, 24 hours after it was first released. For everyone else, we are working to ship a more permanent solution.

It reiterates: "There are a number of workarounds being discussed in the community. These are not recommended as they may conflict with fixes we are deploying".

In the release notes for Firefox 66.0.4, Mozilla says that with the build it has "repaired certificate chain to re-enable web extensions that had been disabled". It also notes that "a small number of add-ons may be listed as unsupported or may not appear in about:addons. Their data is not lost; users should be able to re-install the add-ons and recover the data". Users are directed to bug 1549129 for more information.