Firefox 98.0.2 fixes a Windows crash, add-on issue, and more

Mozilla plans to release a new stable version of the organization’s Firefox web browser today. Firefox 98.0.2 includes four fixes, one of which resolves a crash issue on Windows.

Once launched, Firefox installations should automatically receive the update thanks to the browser’s built-in update functionality. Selecting Menu > Help > About Firefox displays the version that is currently installed and runs a search for updates. Manual verification will pick up the new version as long as Mozilla has already given the go-ahead for release.

Official release notes will be released later today. this page.

Firefox 98.0.2

Firefox 98.0.2 fixes four problems in the web browser. The first issue, filed under bug 1757618 on Mozilla’s bug tracking website, Bugzilla, fixes a browser crash on Windows machines. The investigation found that 32-bit builds of Firefox were predominantly affected, with Firefox crashing due to an out-of-memory event.

Mozilla fixed the issue by reducing the allocation size on all installations except Mac OS with aarch64 CPU.

The second problem is specific to certain add-ons that users have installed in Firefox. It is related to the use of plugins to login to eGovernment sites that use pkcs11 modules. According to the Bugzilla reporter, the plugins affected by the issue would not provide the functionality they were designed to provide. Upgrading to Firefox 98.0.2 resolves the issue.

The third fixed issue affects Firefox on Mac OS systems preventing users from typing in the browser’s address bar under certain circumstances.

The bug reporter listed the following steps to reproduce the problem:

1. Open a new browser tab and select the address bar.
2. Use Cmd-Enter.
3. Attempting to type something in the address bar fails.

The shortcut Cmd-Enter, the Windows equivalent is Ctrl-Enter, adds .com to the address automatically.

Bug 1758664 lists the fourth and final issue in Bugzilla. The home page of an internal time tracking website, powered by Bosch’s ATOSS, returned a blank page in Firefox 98.0. The page worked fine in previous versions. Mozilla analyzed the issue and changed the behavior regarding loading session history iframes.

Mozilla plans to release the new version of Firefox today, March 23, 2022. Firefox 99 will be released on April 5, 2022 according to the release schedule.

Now you: Did you run into any of these problems?

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