Apple patches seven new bugs with Quicktime 7.3

Cupertino (CA) - On the heels of a few critical security threats that recently popped up, Apple has released a new version of its Quicktime player.

Quicktime 7.3 tackles seven bugs, six of which are related to the all-too-common problem of allowing hackers to gain unauthorized access to an innocent PC.

The issues arose from specially crafted media files that were able to bypass the Quicktime player’s security filter and install malicious software on a victim’s hard drive.

Additionally, one other flaw relates to Quicktime’s Java application. According to Apple, users could access sensitive information and gain elevated priveleges illegitimately.

The patches affect Mac OS X, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. Apple credited 3Com, Adobe, and Verisign among a handful of companies who reported the problems.

Users can update their version of Quicktime directly from the software, or by downloading it from Quicktime.com.