Mozilla Firefox Version 73.0 Released With Security Updates

Mozilla sent Firefox Version 73.0 to the release channel today.  The update included seven (7) security updates of which four (4) are high and three (3) rated moderate.

Also released was Firefox ESR Version 68.5.

High

• #CVE-2020-6796: Missing bounds check on shared memory read in the parent process  
• #CVE-2020-6800: Memory safety bugs fixed in Firefox 73 and Firefox ESR 68.5 
• #CVE-2020-6801: Memory safety bugs fixed in Firefox 73 
• #CVE-2020-6801: Memory safety bugs fixed in Firefox 73

Moderate

• #CVE-2020-6797: Extensions granted downloads.open permission could open arbitrary applications on Mac OSX #CVE-2020-6798: Incorrect parsing of template tag could result in JavaScript injection 
• #CVE-2020-6798: Incorrect parsing of template tag could result in JavaScript injection
• #CVE-2020-6799: Arbitrary code execution when opening pdf links from other applications, when Firefox is configured as default pdf reader

New

• Today’s Firefox release includes two features that help users view and read website content more easily, quickly. Like all accessibility improvements, these features improve browsing for everyone.
  
  • Firefox has offered a page zoom feature for more than a decade that allows users to set the zoom level on a per-site basis. For users who need to zoom most websites, having to adjust zoom for each new site can be an annoyance. To address this, we have implemented a new global default zoom level setting. This option is available in about:preferences under "Language and Appearance" and can be scaled up or down from 100% as needed and sets the default zoom level for all sites. Per-site zoom is still available to make adjustments to individual sites as needed.
  • Many users with low vision rely on Windows' High Contrast Mode to make websites more readable. Traditionally, to increase the readability of text, Firefox has disabled background images when High Contrast Mode is enabled. With today’s release of Firefox 73, we introduce a “readability backplate” solution which places a block of background color between the text and background image. Now, websites in High Contrast Mode are more readable without disabling background images.

Fixed

• Improved audio quality when playing back audio at a faster or slower speed.
  
• Firefox will now only prompt you to save logins if a field in a login form was modified.
  

Changed

• WebRender will roll out to laptops with Nvidia graphics cards with drivers newer than 432.00, and screen sizes smaller than 1920x1200.

Update:  To get the update now, select "Help" from the Firefox menu, then pick "About Firefox."  Mac users need to select "About Firefox" from the Firefox menu. If you do not use the English language version, Fully Localized Versions are available for download.

References

• Common questions after updating Firefox
• Security Updates
• Release Notes
• Rapid Release Calendar

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