Firefox 2.0 bug makes passwords publicly available

Posted on Wednesday, November 22 2006 @ 16:20 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

Mozilla reports Firefox 2.0 contains a cross-site form bug that allows phishers to steal passwords out of the Password Manager.

To exploit the bug phishers need to run a form on the site where the password is meant for. One of the sites that is heavily affected by this bug is MySpace. The reporter of this bug says phishers are currently using it on MySpace to steal people's accounts.

When a MySpace users visits a profile created by one of these phishers he/she will get a perfect-looking MySpace login form that uses HTML and absolute positioning. However, this is not the real login form, it's hosted on another domain. Firefox doesn't raise a warning and even fills in the form with information from the password manager!

It's not sure whether Internet Explorer is also affected by this bug.

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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