A flaw in the implementation of the Reliable Datagram Sockets protocol (RDS) in the Linux kernel can be exploited to gain root (also known as superuser) rights or permissions on a victim's system. Attackers can exploit the hole to get complete control remotely once they have broken into the system.

Linux 2.6.33 will have new and improved drivers for Wi-Fi chips by Intel, Ralink and Realtek. Several drivers for old Wi-Fi hardware have been moved to the staging area and will probably soon be discarded. New additions include various LAN chip drivers and several improvements to the network stack.

Mozilla has released Firefox 3.5.1 to fix the recently reported security vulnerability in the Just-in-Time (JIT) JavaScript compiler, an exploit for the Windows version of which is already doing the rounds. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability to inject and execute code on vulnerable systems.

In an interesting twist on browser-based security issues, security researchers said they have found a flaw in which Microsoft's Internet Explorer can cause Mozilla's Firefox to execute remote malicious code. Security firm Secunia released an advisory Tuesday, ranking the flaw as highly critical. The vulnerability is confirmed on Firefox 2.0.0.4 on a fully-patched version of Windows XP SP2.

A medium-large bit of news this week is a potentially serious exploit in the shiny new freshly-released Firefox 3.5, which was released, discovered, and fixed nearly all at the same time. Another open source security success story! Except for one thing-- no one bothered to report if this dastardly flaw affects Linux.

The current version of OpenOffice reportedly contains a security flaw that allows attackers to inject code into a system. The problem apparently only affects the 64-bit version of the office suite.

A vulnerability in the creation of symbolic links (symlinks) in the free Samba file and printer server can be exploited to attain access to files outside of predefined paths. Attackers can even get access to the system's root directory (/). To exploit the flaw (directory traversing), attackers first have to have an account on the Samba server that includes write access to at least one share.

Version 3.6.2, which so far is only available as a beta, fixes a critical security hole in Firefox 3.6 for Windows that was discovered some time ago

It's been nearly seven months since I wrote my first article about ATI drivers and how they literally crippled my computer and my daily life (An Outcry For Improved ATI Linux Drivers). Last month, ATI had finally released their latest drivers which contains the new OpenGL component and AIGLX support (AMD 8.42 Linux Display Driver).