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Mozilla releases second Firefox 131 security update

Mozilla plans to release the third point update for Firefox 131 later today. It is the second security related update for Firefox 131. Just last week, Mozilla released Firefox 131.0.2, a critical security update for the browser to address a vulnerability that is exploited in the wild.

Firefox 131.0.3 includes security patches but also non-security changes. As always, Mozilla is keeping the security changes under wraps until after the official release.

The update patches a single security issue rated high affecting the selection node cache. Unlike Firefox 103.0.2's issue, this one is not exploited in the wild.

Firefox 131.0.3 - the non-security changes

Firefox 131 security update

Mozilla lists four non-security issues.

Avast and AVG crash on Windows

The first addresses a crash on Windows that affects users of Avast or AVG software. Mozilla says that the crash occurs when users visit "certain sites" on Windows devices with Avast or AVG software running.

Engineers have fixed the issue in Firefox 131 and newer, and Firefox 128 ESR. The issue won't get fixed for Firefox 115 ESR according to the bug report.

Enhanced Tracking Protection breaks functionality of some bank websites

"Bill Pay" functionality on several bank websites has been broken for some Firefox users after the upgrade or installation of Firefox 131.

The bug report lists small and large bank websites, including Bank of America, TD Bank, and PNC Bank.

Mozilla's investigation concluded that the issue was related to CHIPS -- Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State -- which launched in Firefox 131.

Firefox ESR is not affected by this.

"List All Tabs" button can be moved

Some Firefox users who do not want the List all tabs button on their toolbar noticed that they could not remove the button.

Firefox 131.0.3 changes this.

YouTube rendering issue

Some VR180 and 360 videos would not render correctly on YouTube when viewed in Firefox. Affected videos showed a black screen or a blinking screen that was black. Some videos could be played when they were paused for 5 to 10 seconds, but not all.

Closing Words

The new version will be released in the next couple of hours. You may check for the new version by opening Menu > Help > About Firefox.

Since Firefox 131.0.3 is a security update first and foremost, it is advised to update the browser as soon as possible to protect it from potential attacks.  Firefox users affected by one of the issues have another reason to update as soon as possible.

Are you using Firefox? Did you notice any of the issues mentioned? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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