Microsoft warns users off Safari

published 3 June 2008

Microsoft has taken the rare step of warning users of its operating system (OS) off rival vendor, Apple's Safari browser due to a flaw in interoperability that could leave them open to malicious attacks.

The Safari bug, originally brought to light in mid-May by security researcher Nitesh Dhanjani plays on the fact Safari can automatically download certain files without a user's permission.

If a Windows OS user visits a hacked website using Safari, a vulnerability in how XP and Vista handle executable files on the desktop can be exploited to litter the victim's desktop with executable files containing malicious code.

In a rare step, Microsoft issued a security advisory last Friday that also confirmed the Safari flaw is dependent on the Windows OS vulnerability regarding executable files on the desktop.

And Aviv Raff, another researcher has also claimed a second Windows flaw could actually allow a hacker to run unauthorised software on a victim's computer.

Although Apple did not respond to an IT PRO request for comment, it has been widely reported that it may not see the flaw as seriously as Microsoft does. Dhanjani said that, when he alerted Apple to the flaw, the Mac vendor responded that it did not see the bug as a security issue. "Apple does not feel this is an issue they want to tackle at this time," he wrote in his blog.

He reproduced Apple's response, which read: "Please note that we are not treating this as a security issue, but a further measure to raise the bar against unwanted downloads. This will require a review with the Human Interface team. We want to set your expectations that this could take quite a while, if it ever gets incorporated."

Apple's seemingly nonchalant reaction has attracted criticism from the security community, where consumer IT security advocacy group Stopbadaware.org has said Apple should "reconsider its stance".

This latest issue comes six weeks after the discovery of a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability in the iPhone version of the Safari browser.

A 25-year veteran enterprise technology expert, Miya Knights applies her deep understanding of technology gained through her journalism career to both her role as a consultant and as director at Retail Technology Magazine, which she helped shape over the past 17 years. Miya was educated at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree in English.

Her role as a journalist has seen her write for many of the leading technology publishers in the UK such as ITPro, TechWeekEurope, CIO UK, Computer Weekly, and also a number of national newspapers including The Times, Independent, and Financial Times.