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Windows and Apple Mac users warned of Safari vulnerability

A software engineer has claimed that Windows and Apple Mac users are at risk of being exposed to online threats due to an internet security vulnerability in Apple's web browser Safari.

In a blog post highlighting the issue, Brian Mastenbrook, who is an open source engineer, claims that the weakness affects the way the browser interacts with RSS feeds.

"I have discovered that Apple's Safari browser is vulnerable to an attack that allows a malicious web site to read files on a user's hard drive without user intervention," he says in the post.

"This can be used to gain access to sensitive information stored on the user's computer, such as emails, passwords, or cookies that could be used to gain access to the user's accounts on some web sites."

According to Mr Mastenbrook, the vulnerability, which he says affects all users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, has been acknowledged by Apple.

Cyber crooks are reported to be increasingly exploiting such weaknesses to compromise end users' internet security and steal their personal details.

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