Today, Apple released a Security Update 2011-005 for OS X in order to address compromised certificates related to DigiNotar, an internet trust service.

Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept user credentials or other sensitive information

Description: Fraudulent certificates were issued by multiple certificate authorities operated by DigiNotar. This issue is addressed by removing DigiNotar from the list of trusted root certificates, from the list of Extended Validation (EV) certificate authorities, and by configuring default system trust settings so that DigiNotar’s certificates, including those issued by other authorities, are not trusted.

Several weeks ago, DigiNotar’s servers were compromised by hackers who obtained access to hundreds of certificates. This update revokes DigiNotar’s status as a trusted source.

DigiNotar, one of hundreds of firms authorized to issue digital certificates that authenticate a website’s identity, admitted on Aug. 30 that its servers were compromised weeks earlier. A report made public Monday said that hackers had acquired 531 certificates, including many used by the Dutch government, and that DigiNotar was unaware of the intrusion for weeks.

Direct downloads (links) for these updates can be found below:

- Security Update 2011-005 (Lion) (15.59 MB)
- Security Update 2011-005 (Snow Leopard) (869 KB)

via MacRumors