Apple Ships Vulnerable Flash Player Plugin

The Adobe Flash Player plugin that was included in yesterday's Mac OS X software update contains multiple vulnerabilities that expose users to malicious hacker attacks.

Apple shipped a new Flash Player plugin (10.0.45.2) in the Mac OS X patch bundle but that version became outdated on June 10th when Adobe shipped Flash Player 10.1.53.64.

The Flash Player 10.0.45.2 software contains 32 vulnerabilities, most rated "critical."   At least one of those flaws have been exploited on the Windows platform.

Apple's outdated Flash Player plugin problem was flagged publicly by Adobe's Wendy Poland: 

Earlier today, Apple released security update 2010-004 / Mac OS X v10.6.4. This update includes an earlier version of Adobe Flash Player (version 10.0.45.2) than available from Adobe.com. While the Mac OS X v10.6.4 update does not appear to downgrade users who have already upgraded to Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe recommends users verify they are using the latest, most secure version of Flash Player (10.1.53.64) available for download from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer.

To verify the Adobe Flash Player version number installed on your system (after applying the Mac OS X security update), Mac users can go to the About Flash Player page, or right-click on content running in Flash Player and select "About Adobe Flash Player" from the menu.

If you use multiple browsers, perform the check for each browser you have installed on your system.

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