Mozilla to release urgent 'chemspill' Firefox update next week

The Mozilla organization has issued a "code freeze" for its next update to the Firefox 3.0 production Web browser series. As a result, a version of Firefox 3.0.8 went live this morning on Mozilla's servers, although the organization's planners are saying that an announcement of the version's official release may come as late as next Wednesday.

For this type of release, Mozilla is coining a fitting new term: chemspill, meaning a response to a potential negative event. Version 3.0.8's sole purpose, according to the organization's planning group, is to address serious vulnerabilities, the nature or number of which have yet to be reported. It's likely that such a report would be timed for release in sync with the new version.

All new features and enhancements planned for the original 3.0.8 release are now being delayed for 3.0.9, and a new schedule for that release has yet to be determined.