Apple blocks older versions of Adobe Flash Player plug-in

Apple has today updated Safari’s web plug-in blocking mechanism to disable older versions of the Adobe Flash Player. The update, noted by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, is likely in response to recently exposed vulnerabilities in Flash.

The update is automatic and affects the Adobe Flash Player plug-in system-wide using Apple’s latest Xprotect file update. The file is a block list of currently banned plugins and includes Flash and Java.  The notice reads: “To help protect users from a recent vulnerability, Apple has updated the web plug-in-blocking mechanism to disable older versions of the web plug-in: Adobe Flash Player”

Adobe recently issued an emergency Flash update for three vulnerabilities affecting Windows, Mac and Linux. Two of those vulnerabilities were found to already be exploited in the wild against Flash Player in Firefox.

The minimum version of Flash Player in the latest update to Apple’s ‘Xprotect’ file is 11.6.602.171 (thanks Charles). You can find instructions on how to update the Flash plug-in here.

Apple has recently been more aggressive about blocking plug-ins and third-party add-ons that expose its computers to malicious actors. Recently, it blocked Java on its computers after a spate of hacking incidents that targeted Apple itself, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and most likely quite a few other companies yet to be uncovered.