Secunia: Second flaw in Microsoft IE7 browser

Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser.

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The bug allows hackers to place a fake Web address in one of the browser's pop-up Windows, and could be used to trick a victim into inadvertently downloading something from what appeared to be a trusted Web site. Secunia has described the flaw in an advisory.

Based on its initial investigation, Microsoft believes that there is "an issue," a spokesman with the company's public relations agency said in an e-mail.

While the full URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the Web page being displayed is present in the pop-up Window's address bar, the left part of this URL is not initially displayed, the spokesman said.

That problem could allow an attacker to spoof a legitimate Web site, Secunia said.

Microsoft's confirmation may come as a relief to Secunia which reported another problem in IE 7, just hours after the browser was released. Microsoft said Secunia's report was "technically inaccurate," however, because the flaw lay in a component of Microsoft's Outlook Express e-mail client, which could be triggered by the browser. Microsoft commented on this issue in a blog entry.

Neither of the bugs is considered to be particularly critical. But coming so soon after IE 7's launch, they are somewhat of an embarrassment to Microsoft, which has made much of its focus on delivering secure software.

Secunia was surprised that Microsoft called their first report erroneous, given that the flaw can only be triggered through the browser, said Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer. "From a technical point of view, Microsoft might be right, but from a user's point of view, or an administrator's point of view, it doesn't really matter. IE is the vector," he said. "It was probably unnecessary to go out and try to blame Outlook in that way."