Microsoft investigates spoofing bug

Microsoft on Tuesday said it is looking into reports of a potential bug in its web browser that could help malicious hackers design convincing website spoofs.

The bug, according to security alerts by a bug hunter and a Danish security company, Secunia, could let hackers use a technique to display a false web address on a fake site.

Secunia credited the bug to "Zap the Dingbat," who posted an alert to the Bugtraq security mailing list. That alert links to a demonstration of the exploit, and says Microsoft was informed of the bug on Tuesday.

Malicious hackers frequently lure victims to convincing replicas of ecommerce sites such as eBay, where they're tricked into handing over financial and other private information. The method is said to be a key tool in credit card and identity theft.

Savvy web surfers often figure out the ruse from irregularities in the web address. But in the method described by Secunia, IE could allow the address bar for the spoofed eBay site, for example, to read "ebay.com."

Microsoft said in a statement it "is investigating new public reports of a possible vulnerability in Internet Explorer."

"We have not been made aware of any active exploits of the reported vulnerabilities or customer impact at this time, but we are aggressively investigating the public reports," the company added.

Microsoft did not set a timetable for its investigation, but said it may eventually release a patch to address the problem.

Paul Festa writes for News.com