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[Workaround] Flash version 11.* crash problem

Posted: 2012-06-11, 14:03
by Moonchild
There are a number of reports that updating Flash to the latest version causes problems in Pale Moon and other Firefox-based browsers (but less so in Mozilla's builds), most notably a crash of the plugin container upon exit of the browser.

Recommended is to NOT update the Flash plugin until Adobe has resolved these problems.

UPDATE: Apparently Mozilla Firefox browsers also suffer to the same degree from this issue.

If you have already installed v11.3 and are experiencing problems, either use the workaround below, or use:
Reverting to an earlier version of flash: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1022066?tstart=0

Re: Flash version update problem

Posted: 2012-06-12, 20:34
by Moonchild
Seems the problem is caused by too many sandboxing methods stacked. Flash introduced "protected mode" in its plugin which causes no end to trouble for Gecko browsers that are already using OOPP.

Adobe integrated Protected Mode for Firefox in this release, and it appears that it is this new feature that is causing the issues for Pale Moon users. If you are interested in background information on Protected Mode for Firefox, I suggest you check out the official announcement of it over at the Adobe website.
Our Protected Mode implementation allows Flash Player to run as a low integrity process with several additional restrictions that prohibit the runtime from accessing sensitive resources.

By running the Flash Player as a restricted process, Adobe is making it more difficult for an attacker to turn a simple bug into a working exploit.
Adobe itself recommends disabling Protected Mode until a fix comes out that is resolving the issue.

To disable Protected Mode you need to edit the mms.cfg file located in one of the two directories:

Windows 32bit: C:\windows\system32\macromed\flash
Windows 64bit: C:\windows\syswow64\macromed\flash

Just open the file with a text editor (you may have to run it as Administrator) and add the following line to the mms.cfg file:

ProtectedMode = 0

If the file does not exist, create it first. To enable Protected Mode again simply delete the line that you have added to the config file.

Source: http://www.ghacks.net/2012/06/10/flash-player-update-fix-freezes-crashes-in-firefox/

Re: [Workaround] Flash version 11.3 crash problem

Posted: 2012-06-16, 12:20
by Moonchild
Pale Moon 12.2.1 is in the works that implements an internal workaround for this issue.

UPDATE: It will not solve all flash issues existing in Flash 11.3, it will only fix the "crash on shutdown".
For other problems like black full-screen video, and related Flash crashes, you will still need this workaround. Adobe's protected mode causes issues in both Firefox and Pale Moon (and other Gecko-based browsers with OOPP) and this needs to be fixed by Adobe.