One “Extremely Severe” and two “Highly Severe” security issues have been discovered and patched in the latest version of Opera, one of the most feature-full web browsers available today. Although it adds a few user interface tweaks, “Opera 9.61 is a recommended security upgrade,” according to the team of developers.

Earlier this month, the Opera Team released a new version of their web browser, improving v.9.5-specific features, like Opera Link and Opera Mail, as well as the Scroll Marker. However, the 9.6 update mostly packed security tweaks, making it a must have for Mac, Windows and Linux users alike. Changes in Opera 9.61 now include UI enhancements as well, while security is again emphasized.

As regards the UI, the team of developers fixed an issue with Opera Link that could generate duplicate bookmarks during the synchronization process. Also worth noting is another UI tweak, which now shows the image toggle button on the status bar as a normal button, and does not have a menu.

Fixed security issues include an error where History Search could be used to reveal browsing history, as reported by Roberto Suggi Liverani of Security-Assessment.com. According to the Opera Team, “Certain constructs are not escaped correctly by Opera's History Search results. These can be used to inject scripts into the page, which can then be used to look through the user's browsing history, including the contents of the pages they have visited. These may contain sensitive information.” Opera 9.61 addresses this issue and patches it.

Also, Fast Forward can no longer allow cross-site scripting, while news feed preview is now prevented from revealing the contents of unrelated news feeds, as reported by David Bloom. Opera 9.61 also incorporates the Opera Presto 2.1.1 user agent engine, according to the Opera Team.

To download the latest version of Opera, use the link provided below.

Download Opera 9.61 for Mac (Free)