Apple criticised as it patches 50 flaws

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Apple has released a massive patch that fixes more than 50 security flaws in different versions of the Mac operating system as well as bundled software.

There are a number of flaw fixes for Mac OS X’s implementation of Sun Microsystem’s Java as well as a problem with the web browser Safari.

The other products affected are Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, Mac OS X Server, AirPort, iPhone, iPhoto, iPod Touch and QuickTime 7.

The Safari vulnerability was possibly the most serious of the flaws, as it could have allowed a website to run malicious Javascript on a user’s system if they subscribed to a RSS feed which included a malicious link.

One of the researchers who discovered that flaw, open source developer Brian Mastenbrook, wasn’t happy with how Apple reacted when he reported the problem back in July of last year.

On his blog he claimed that six months passed without a fix before he decided to post a warning on his blog last month.

He said: “So why did it take seven months for Apple to deliver a fix? What does this say about Apple’s commitment to protecting the security of these users? Neither I nor anyone else who is not at Apple can answer these questions for certain.”

Apple has not returned request for comment by the time of writing.

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