Mozilla Releases Firefox 66.0.4 for PCs and Android to Fix Major Add-Ons Issue

[The AchieVer]

Mozilla Releases Firefox 66.0.4 for PCs and Android to Fix Major Add-Ons Issue 

 

Mozilla released today the fourth maintenance update to the latest Firefox 66.0 "Quantum" web browser series to address a major issue preventing all types of extensions from running or being installed.

 

On May 3rd, Mozilla was made aware of a critical bug in the latest Firefox 66.0.3 release of its popular web browser for desktops and mobile platforms, which apparently prevented new and existing add-ons, themes, search engines, and language packs from being installed or run.

Mozilla immediately took action and pushed a temporary fix via OTA (Over-the-Air) updates to all users on desktop platforms, which includes Linux, macOS, and Windows systems, for all available channels (Stable, Beta, and Nightly), urging users not to delete their installed add-ons.

Firefox ESR and Firefox for Android users where affected too, but Mozilla couldn't patch the issue without releasing a new version, which comes today as Firefox 66.0.4 and Firefox 60.6.2 ESR, repairing the broken certificate chain and re-enable add-ons that had been disable.

Some users of Firefox on certain Linux-based operating system where affected as well and couldn't receive the said patch until new versions are made available by the maintainers of their GNU/Linux distributions via the official software channels. Mozilla recommends to install Firefox 66.0.4 as soon as it's available in your repositories.Be aware, some issues are still presentEven if Mozilla rushed to fix the critical issue with the release of Firefox 66.0.4 and Firefox 60.6.2 ESR, it would appear that many issue are still present even after installing these versions. Mozilla promises that it constantly works on fixing all related problems, so expect a new version soon.

"There are remaining issues that we are actively working to resolve, but we wanted to get this fix out before Monday to lessen the impact of disabled add-ons before the start of the week," said Mozilla in a blog posttoday. To see the unresolved issues and their temporary solution, check out the release notes.

Without first ado, we recommend downloading and installing Mozilla Firefox 66.0.4 for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows, Firefox 66.0.4 for Android, as well as Mozilla Firefox 60.6.2 ESR for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows. On Windows and macOS, you can install it via OTA updates, and on Android systems via Google Play store.

 

 

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[The AchieVer]

Mozilla releases Firefox 66.0.4 with fix disabled add-ons issue

Mozilla rolls out permanent fix for "disabled add-ons" issue after releasing a temporary patch a day before.

 

 

 

Mozilla has released an update today for Firefox that fixes the issue with an expired signing certificate that disabled add-ons for the vast majority of its userbase over the weekend. 

"A Firefox release has been pushed - version 66.0.4 on Desktop and Android, and version 60.6.2 for ESR. This release repairs the certificate chain to re-enable web extensions, themes, search engines, and language packs that had been disabled," Kev Needham, a member of the Firefox Add-ons team, saidtoday. 

"There are remaining issues that we are actively working to resolve, but we wanted to get this fix out before Monday to lessen the impact of disabled add-ons before the start of the week," Needham added. 

EXPIRED CERTIFICATE SNAFU

If you're not a Firefox user and you're wondering what is this all about, the update comes to address Mozilla's biggest epic fail in the organization's history. 

On the night between Friday and Saturday, at May 4, 12:00 am UTC, the digital certificate that Mozilla was using to sign Firefox add-ons (also called extensions) expired. Mozilla was using this certificate to verify that extensions installed in the user's browsers are the same extensions that are hosted on the official Mozilla Add-ons portal. 

Once the certificate expired, Firefox browsers couldn't verify the authenticity of locally-installed extensions, and immediately disabled all add-ons in users' browsers. 

Additionally, users couldn't re-enable extensions, nor could they install new ones from scratch for the same reason --the signing certificate having expired-- leaving most of Mozilla's 100+ million users without a simple way to re-enable extensions. 

The Tor Browser, a Firefox-based off-shoot that also relies on Mozilla's Add-ons site for extensions, also had a crucial extension disabled, weakening the privacy-first browser's overall security posture.

TEMPORARY PATCH CAME UNDER CRITICISM 

Users came up with various hacks to re-enable extensions, and so did Mozilla, which a few hours after the certificate expired, rolled out a temporary patch. 

This temporary patch used the built-in Firefox Studies feature to ship a "study" that added support for a new signing certificate. 

However, this temporary solution didn't reach all users. This was because "Firefox Studies" was disabled for users who didn't agree to send telemetry data back to Mozilla.

 

 

 

 

 

The good news is that Mozilla doesn't anticipate new problems after the update to Firefox 66.0.4, which should fix the "disabled add-ons" issue for all users.

 

 

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[freethinKing]

Embarrassing from Mozilla that this happened.

[trileaubitetrileaubite]

4 hours ago, freethinKing said:

Embarrassing from Mozilla that this happened.

Yeah I agree 🤔 I read a lot of people who said they deleted Firefox for this reason. IMO a little bit extreme...
I think no browser is completly safe from bugs....

[c.petrascu]

Too bad. Already moved to Kiwi Browser (Chrome based with add-ons) on Android and to Chrome on PC until Edge Chromium is ready to fight. Good night Firefox! 

[funkyy]

@TheAchieVer " The good news is that Mozilla doesn't anticipate new problems after the update to Firefox 66.0.4, which should fix the "disabled add-ons" issue for all users."

Like many people I used the recommended Mozilla fix and my add-ons returned to normal. Then Firefox updated to v.66.0.4 (and now 66.0.5) but now my "Themes" don't stay enabled!!

I click on my desired theme - it appears at the top of the page - I open another tab but the theme doesn't appear there - I return to the original page that had the theme and now the theme is gone there too!!! I removed all my themes, restarted Firefox and then installed a few more themes. When I enable a theme the above situation repeats...the theme won't stay enabled!!!!!!! 🙁🙁🙁

[The AchieVer]

Mozilla Releases Firefox 66.0.5 with More Fixes for Extension Bug 

 

Mozilla has just released another update for Firefox browser to resolve other issues related to the extension bug discovered last week.

Firefox 66.0.5 is thus available for download on all supported platforms, and Mozilla strongly recommends users to install it, especially if they continue experiencing issues with extensions.

Last week, Mozilla discovered a bug that caused extensions to be disabled in Firefox, and the company quickly rolled out a temporary fix for affected devices.

Earlier this week, the company returned with a full patch included in Firefox 66.0.4, and now it’s rolling out another update that’s supposed to correct other problems that are related to the same issue.

Few details are available about what’s being fixed in this update, but the official changelog published by Mozilla claims this update brings” further improvements to re-enable web extensions which had been disabled for users with a master password set.”Update available right nowIn a separate post last updated May 7, Mozilla explains that users should install this update as soon as possible. The automatic update is supposed to be offered to everyone in approximately 24 hours.

“Firefox 66.0.5 has been released, and we recommend that people update to that version if they continue to experience problems with extensions being disabled. You’ll get an update notification within 24 hours, or you can initiate an update manually. An update for ESR users will be available tomorrow. We’re also working on a fix for older versions of Firefox, and will update this post and on social media as we have more information,” the company explains.

You can download Firefox for Windows, Linux, and Mac from Softpedia using these links, and given the important fixes it includes, you’re recommended to do it as soon as possible.

The update can also be launched using the built-in engine system by heading over to Firefox menu > Help > About Firefox.

 

 

 

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[funkyy]

@TheAchieVer...I have installed Firefox v 66.0.5 but STILL have problems with the themes refusing to show. I choose a theme, click "enable" and it shows at the top of the page as normal...but when I open another tab the theme does not appear....and when I return to the original tab it is gone also!!! This problem is only since the Firefox certificate blunder of the other day, it never happened before. 

I uninstalled Firefox and then re-installed it but the problem persists. I'm wondering if any other people are having a similar problem.🙁🙁🙁

[The AchieVer]

@funkyy

 

 

[Karlston]

On 5/9/2019 at 3:18 AM, funkyy said:

I uninstalled Firefox and then re-installed it but the problem persists. I'm wondering if any other people are having a similar problem

 

The cause may be profile related. AFAIK, uninstalling Firefox doesn't remove any profiles, and reinstalling doesn't create a new default profile. So your new Firefox version is probably using the same profile as the old version.

 

If you applied one of the unofficial fixes to the same profile you're using now, it may be worth trying to back out that fix. But, remember to take a copy of the profile before tinkering. Just in case.

 

EDIT: It may be worth posting your problem in the Software Chat forum. More are likely to see your post there than here.