Mozilla's open-source Firefox browser recorded the highest number of severe vulnerabilities among popular consumer applications this year, according to new research from whitelisting firm Bit9 released today.

Versions two and three of the popular browser were found to have 40 known vulnerabilities over the course of the year. Second highest was Adobe Acrobat versions 8.1.2 and 8.1.1 with 31, and in third place was Microsoft Windows Live (MSN) Messenger versions 4.7 and 5.1 with 19 vulnerabilities.

The vendors usually came up with a patch for these vulnerabilities, but many firms do not have the policies in place to ensure they are pushed out to each endpoint, according to Bit9 chief technology officer Harry Sverdlove.

"We recommend all IT shops establish policies so they clearly understand what applications are allowed and what they should do if vulnerabilities are discovered," he advised.

"They should also take an inventory of what is running – it’s fine to have a policy but another thing to monitor."

Sverdlove also advised firms to put in place controls that prevent applications with vulnerabilities from running in the corporate environment.