14 DAY TRIAL // Serious crashes, which left some Firefox users unable to use their browser after upgrading to the latest available version, has determined Mozilla to suspend the update delivery process until the problem is identified and fixed.
Users began reporting the crashes soon after Firefox 3.6.9 and Firefox 3.5.12 were released last week.
"We're seeing lots of these crashes following the recent branch releases," Mozilla employee Mark Banner, wrote in a new Bugzilla entry dated September 9.
The crashes occur when attempting to start the browser. The layout module apparently fails to initialize, making it impossible to use the application.
"Just to note, most of the comments [in crash reports] indicated people were running the browser previously, got the update prompt, updated, and then were unable to start after that point," Christian Legnitto, another Mozilla employee, who works on Firefox releases, added.
The frequency of the crashes is not very high, but their serious impact on usability is very concerning. Because of this Mr. Legnitto requested that updates be turned off temporarily, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The update delivery for the 3.1.*, 3.5.* and 3.6.* Firefox branches was initially stopped by modifying the permissions on the update directories.
These changes were reverted back yesterday and a different blocking method was employed for the 3.5.11 and 3.6.8 versions only, where most crashes were observed.
This means that a lot of Firefox users won't receive the 3.6.9 and 3.5.12 updates released last week, which address numerous security vulnerabilities of critical impact.
Mozilla is still trying to figure out the root cause. The regression of a previously known bug is one of the possibilities that are currently being investigated.
Upgrading is still possible by downloading the latest versions and installing them manually, but this operation carries the aforementioned risks.