Opera Software ASA has released an upgrade addressing two serioussecurity flaws involving Macromedia’s Flash Player and a code executionbug affecting Linux and Unix users.The first problem relates to Flash Player and was made public earlierthis month. Macromedia warned that the bug in Flash Player, one of themost widely used pieces of software on the desktop, could allowattackers to take over a system.The security research firm co-credited with discovering the bug, eEye,said it had demonstrated “reliable exploitation” using the bug in theInternet Explorer browser, but other browsers are also said to be justas open to attack.Opera’s fix arrived this week with Opera 8.5.1, which includes Flash Player version 7r61, fixing the problem. The release also fixes a problem identified by Secunia Research,involving the shell script used to launch Opera in Linux and Unixenvironments. The flawed script processes shell commands enclosed inURLs passed to Opera via the command line.That means an attacker could execute malicious shell commands on auser’s system via an innocent-seeming URL in an email message, forexample. The command would be executed when the user clicked on the URLand invoked Opera. The shell script bug doesn’t just affect Opera — it is a variant of a problem with the Firefox browser disclosed in September.Opera said the update also improves stability when viewing pages with Java for users of Japanese Mac OS X systems.By Matthew Broersma – Techworld.com Related content feature Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023 Fears of recession, rising interest rates, mass tech layoffs, and conservative spending trends are likely to make dealmakers cautious, but an ever-increasing need to defend against bigger and faster attacks will likely keep M&A activity steady in By CSO Staff Sep 22, 2023 24 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions brandpost Unmasking ransomware threat clusters: Why it matters to defenders Similar patterns of behavior among ransomware treat groups can help security teams better understand and prepare for attacks By Joan Goodchild Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Cybercrime news analysis China’s offensive cyber operations support “soft power” agenda in Africa Researchers track Chinese cyber espionage intrusions targeting African industrial sectors. By Michael Hill Sep 21, 2023 5 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks Critical Infrastructure brandpost Proactive OT security requires visibility + prevention You cannot protect your operation by simply watching and waiting. It is essential to have a defense-in-depth approach. By Austen Byers Sep 21, 2023 4 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe