Firefox had more than four times as many browser vulnerabilities as Internet Explorer last year, but Mozilla was much faster to issue patches than Microsoft, according to a report from security firm Secunia. Internet Explorer had 31 reported vulnerabilities in 2008 compared to Firefox's 115. Safari had 32, while Opera had 30. In terms of patch issuance, however, Mozilla released patches for three out of three Firefox-related, low-risk advisories. Microsoft, however, released patches for three out of six IE-related advisories.
One serious IE threat, however, went unpatched for up to 110 days after disclosure, Secunia said. The three IE threats deemed by Secunia as low risk remain unpatched.In terms of browser plug-in problems, ActiveX had the 366 reported vulnerabilities last year. Java had 54 security issues, followed by QuickTime with 30, Flash with 19, and Firefox Extension with one. The Opera Widget had no reported vulnerabilities.
[credits: pcmag.com]
