News has rocked the cybersecurity world: An 18-year-old security flaw known as “0.0.0.0 Day” allows hackers to compromise popular web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.
This vulnerability primarily affects users of Linux and macOS systems and poses significant risks to the security of their data.
How does the 0.0.0.0 vulnerability work?
The “0.0.0.0 Day” vulnerability is caused by a gap in the security mechanisms of the affected browsers. This gap allows malicious websites to communicate with local network services without the user noticing. This allows hackers to:
- Change settings: For example, you can disable the firewall settings or manipulate the DNS servers
- Access sensitive data: Passwords, documents and other confidential information can be stolen
- Install malware: Hackers can install malware on the system to cause further damage
Why has the gap not been closed for so long?
The security vulnerability was discovered in 2006, but its extent has only now become public knowledge. There are many reasons for this:
- Complex problem: Fixing the vulnerability requires extensive changes to the browser cores and could lead to unexpected side effects
- Lack of standardization: There is no uniform approach to how browsers should handle the IP address 0.0.0.0
- Low awareness: For a long time, the problem was considered relatively unthreatening
Browser developers such as Google, Mozilla and Apple are already working on patches to close the vulnerability.
