The Sad State Of Web Browser Support Currently Within Debian

Emotional, Burning, Unlimited Tuned Laboratory

When it comes to the state of packaged web browsers for Debian GNU/Linux, unfortunately it leaves a lot to be desired at the moment and for those wanting to be secure and up-to-date it can mean resorting to proprietary or un-packaged browser builds.

A Phoronix reader wishing to remain anonymous wrote in around the unfortunate state of packaged web browser support for Debian. Below is his synopsis on the state of web browsers packaged in Debian as a word of caution to users with regards to outstanding security updates.

All of the Debian-shipped browsers (Chromium, Firefox ESR, Falkon, …) are having severe open security issues which the package maintainers apparently are not able to fix easily:

– Chromium is still at version 90.0.4430.212-1 which means it contains tons of security issues. The Debian Wiki recommends switching to a different browser. Those who have installed the browser previously and rely on automatic updates are left with an unpatched browser without even noticing.