Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. News

The U.S. government says you need to update Firefox right now

By

If you use the Mozilla Firefox web browser, the government recommends that you update the browser because of a zero-day vulnerability that could enable hackers to take control of your computer. 

The United States Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is encouraging those with the Firefox browser to update to versions 72.0.1 and ESR 68.4.1.

Recommended Videos

“Mozilla has released security updates to address a vulnerability in Firefox and Firefox ESR. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system. This vulnerability was detected in exploits in the wild,” CISA’s statement published on Wednesday reads. 

Related

Mozilla is aware of the vulnerability and issued a fix for it in the latest update version on Wednesday, January 8. The zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2019-17026) was labeled by the company as “critical” and could have allowed potential hackers an open door to access people’s browsers and computers. The company said that hackers actively engaging in “targeted attacks” against the exploit, meaning you could be at serious risk if you don’t update your browser as soon as possible. 

Mozilla said that Chinese cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 found and reported the vulnerability to the company.

According to Forbes, a zero-day vulnerability means “a security vulnerability that is not known to the product vendor or security researchers but, crucially, is known to threat actors who can then exploit it.”

How to update Firefox

Updating your Firefox browser to protect you from this vulnerability is simple: 

  1. Go to your browser’s menu bar and click About Firefox.
  2. A new window will open and will begin to check for any updates, downloading them automatically.
  3. Once the download is complete, be sure to click Restart to update Firefox to make sure you are using the latest version (72.0.1). 

Despite this vulnerability, Firefox is a close runner-up to Google Chrome for Digital Trends’ pick for the best web browser. Firefox is more privacy-centric than Chrome and is comparably fast. 

Firefox has made recent updates in the last month that include better privacy protections with anti-tracker support, improved password syncing across devices, and integrated breach alerts.

In November, Firefox also made an update in Firefox 70 that allows you to hide notification permission pop-ups that can get annoying. 

Digital Trends reached out to Mozilla to find out more about the vulnerability, and what could have caused it. We will update this story once we hear back. 

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Allison Matyus
Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
A virus infected more than 11 million Android devices. Here’s what we know
A person holding an Android phone while on a bike. The display shows the Google Play Store.

According to statistics, it's expected that people will download 143 billion apps in 2026 alone. That's a lot of people and a lot of phones, so it's no surprise that bad actors have pinpointed the Play Store as an ideal distribution center. According to security researchers at Kaspersky SecureList, the infamous Necro malware has been found in Android, with more than an estimated 11 million devices infected.

The estimated download count comes from the researchers taking a look at the different infected apps. There are several that are confirmed infected, including Wuta Camera and Max Browser. There are also WhatsApp mods from unofficial sources that carry the malware, as well as a Spotify mod called Spotify Plus — yes, like the premium service. The report also touches on a number of infected mods for games like Minecraft and Melon Sandbox.

Read more
Rings of Power used one simple trick to avoid an infamous Game of Thrones mistake
Adar stands near an orc in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2's penultimate installment follows Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) as they and their respective Elven and Orc armies meet in battle outside the walls of the Elvish kingdom of Eregion. The conflict itself, known canonically as the Siege of Eregion, takes up the majority of the episode's runtime, and for good reason. It already ranks high as one of the most impressive blockbuster battle sequences that has ever been brought to life on TV.

The siege takes place almost entirely at night, but you're still able to perceive and understand everything that happens throughout it. That's a testament to the work of director Charlotte Brändström and cinematographer Alex Disenhof, the latter of whom confessed in an interview with Collider that he was worried about how visually legible the battle would turn out. "As [a] cinematographer, I think, some of the scariest things you can read on a page are like, 'A moonlit night,'" Disenhof admitted.

Read more
New Ryzen 7 9800X3D leak: ‘This legend is unbeatable’
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D installed in a motherboard.

AMD may have just released its new Zen 5 lineup less than two months ago, but the processor that all gamers are waiting for is definitely the Ryzen 7 9800X3D -- and it seems to be a lot closer than we thought. A few days after an initial report that the 9800X3D would launch this year, another leak reaffirmed this by sharing promotional material about the CPU. It really looks like AMD is banking on the 9800X3D to be the best processor of the year. This isn't the only sign of an imminent launch.

A leaked slide comes from Moore's Law Is Dead, who also cited his own anonymous sources as he talked about the CPU. Before we dive in, remember that all of this has yet to be confirmed by AMD, although the promotional material certainly looks legitimate.

Read more