September 21, 2011

Flash to get update for zero-day bug

UPDATE: The patches are now live. 

Adobe on Wednesday plans to release an update to its Flash Player to patch a number of vulnerabilities, including one that is being actively exploited.

The update to Flash 10.3.183.7 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris is expected to include several fixes.

But the primary reason for the emergency update is to resolve a flaw, rated "important," that is being leveraged in ongoing, targeted attacks in which adversaries are attempting to trick users into clicking on a malicious link contained in an email, according to Adobe. A successful exploit could lead to a cross-site scripting attack by which criminals could take website actions on the victim's behalf.

Wednesday's planned release, which also will bring Flash 10.3.186.6 for Android up to date, includes fixes for a number of other vulnerabilities – these rated "critical" – but none are being actively used in attacks. However, a successful exploit could result in a full system takeover.

The updates are due in the early evening EST. Google, meanwhile, already has fixed the issue in the latest version of Chrome.

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