Safari 5.0.4 Arrives with Tons of Security Fixes

As predicted by Italian security firm Vupen, Apple has released a Safari update tasked with patching a number of WebKit vulnerabilities. The release also improves stability, accessibility, and compatibility, Apple’s technical documentation reveals.

According to Apple’s Support section, Safari 5.0.4 for Mac OS X “contains improvements to stability, compatibility, accessibility and security, including the following:

· Improved stability for webpages with multiple instances of plug-in content
· Improved compatibility with webpages with image reflections and transition effects
· A fix for an issue that could cause some webpages to print with incorrect layouts
· A fix for an issue that could cause content to display incorrectly on webpages with plug-ins
· A fix for an issue that could cause a Screen Saver to appear while video is playing in Safari
· Improved compatibility with VoiceOver on webpages with text input areas and lists with selectable items
· Improved stability when using VoiceOver”

On the Windows front, the update delivers improved compatibility with webpages with transition effects.

This enhancement spans three fixes, including one for an issue that could cause some webpages to print with incorrect layouts; one for an error that could prevent HTML5 video from playing on YouTube; and one for a bug that could cause content to display incorrectly on webpages with plug-ins.

Security-wise, Safari 5.0.4 patches multiple vulnerabilities in core components of the browser, including WebKit, ImageIO, and libxml. Numerous fixes target the Windows version of Safari only.

Safari 5.0.4 is a free download for both Mac and Windows users. The browser requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard) or Mac OS X 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard), and Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

Download Safari for Mac OS X (Free)

Download Safari for Windows (Free)

In related news, Safari was the first web browser to get hacked at a scheduled IT conference with a focus on security in Vancouver, Canada.

According to reports, Safari was cracked in no more than 5 seconds by Vupen security researchers on the first day of the Pwn2Own hacking contest as part of the CanSecWest conference.