Fergie's Tech Blog

Google fixes web site security bug

Joris Evers writes in C|Net News:

Google has fixed a security flaw on its Web site that opened the door to phishing scams, account hijacks and other attacks, security researchers said Monday.

The flaw, known as a cross-site scripting vulnerability, existed on the Web site for Google's AdWords advertising program and a customer training site, according to security company Finjan Software, which discovered the problem.

Attackers could have exploited the flaw to hijack Google accounts, launch phishing scams or even download malicious code onto users' computers, according to Finjan. Phishing scams are designed to trick people into giving up sensitive information such as user names, passwords, credit card details and Social Security numbers.

Finjan informed Google of the bug late last month and the problem was fixed within 30 hours, said Limor Elbaz, a vice president at Finjan, which is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. "Google's responsiveness was very good," she said.

posted by Fergie @ 10/10/2005 12:32:00 PM