454306 - Loading URL http://sarahpalinexposed.com/ causes Firefox to use all CPU resources

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Core Graveyard :: Plug-ins, defect)

Description

[r-moz]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1

The referenced URL, when loaded causes Firefox to consume 97-99% of CPU.  Firefox seemingly locks up the PC.  Firefox cannot be controlled with the mouse.  Duration is longer than 2 minutes. At the time, 8 or 9 other tabs were already loaded - none of them were displaying video or other "active" components.

The referenced URL is large and contains many embedded video links - some from YouTube.

I have seen similar results when zooming in on Google maps - both displaying roads and satellite images, but Google maps doesn't fail predictably.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.start Firefox
2.load these sites in tabs:
http://usa.kaspersky.com/products_services/anti-virus.php
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,173719,00.html?ESRC=retirees.nl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/prelude/openhouse.cfm
https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Mussorgsky-Stokowski-Pictures-at-an-Exhibition/dp/B0009JVOKM
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/binary-releases.php
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12001775&fsrc=nwlbtwfree
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/the-mirrored-ceiling/?em
3. load site http://sarahpalinexposed.com/ in a new tab.
Actual Results:  
Firefox CPU utilization is low after the first set of sites is loaded - even 0% until a page is scrolled, for example. Loading the last site causes Firefox CPU utilization to go to 98 or 99%. It is not possible to use the mouse to control Firefox at this time.  Even attempting to drag the Firefox window fails. It is also difficult to gain access to Windows functions (start menu, task manager).  During the Google maps-related failures it was often (but not always) not possible to regain control of the PC even after waiting 10 minutes.

Additionally, attempting to use the Help->Report Broken Web Site... feature either failed to connect with the server (it reported this error) or the "Sending Report" pop-up simply scrolled the progress bar "forever."

Expected Results:  
Normal viewing of the URL.

I am using Windows XP SP3 (but saw the Google problems with SP2). 
I also run ZoneAlarm Pro and BitDefender AntiVirus 2008.
Extensions: 
Adblock Plus 0.7.5.5, 
Close n forget 0.2, 
Configuration Mania 1.09.2008081401
Download Statusbar 0.9.6.3
Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer 2.1.0.12
IE Tab 1.5.20080823
Image Zoom 0.3.1
Selected Plugins (of many):
Java Platform SE 6 U7
MetaStream 3 Plugin r4
QuickTime Plug-in 7.5 (861)
RealPlayer Version Plugin 6.0.12.1465
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r124
VLC Multimedia Plugin 0.8.6d
Windows Media Player Plug-in DLL (Npdsplay.dll)

Plugin RealPlayer G2 LiveConnect-Enabled Plug-in (32-bit) is installed but not enabled.

Comment 1

[pcnate]

this appears to be due to the outrageous amount of flash content on the page

shockwave flash player is not giving control back to firefox, as it is maxing the cpu out on its own

interesting note, try loading this site in google chrome, and use the chrome task manager, although, with the different code structure, this will not crash chrome, just make it incredibly slow

Comment 2

[r-moz]

I am not sure I want to sign up to Google's usage requirements for Chrome.

However, IE 7 with Flash9f.ocx does not have any performance problems with this flash content.

So is this a flash plugin problem or an interface problem in the browser?

Comment 3

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

You can't compare the NPAPI plugin with an ActiveX plugin.
You can compare Firefox with Safari, chrome, Opera but not IE.

Also always test without addons (Firefox safemode) before reporting a bug.

This seem to work for me with Seamonkey trunk and flash 10 r12

Comment 4

[aravindm]

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.2) Gecko/20100316
Firefox/3.6.2
Reporter, can you please test in Safe Mode 
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
and check if an extension is the cause of the mentioned issue.

Comment 5

[r-moz]

Since the problem was reported in Sep 2008, the owner of the URL has removed nearly all embedded flash objects from the web page, so the problem does not show up now.

If you can find a web page with 20-30 embedded flash objects, perhaps you can test with that.

I cannot test this now as I no longer use Windows XP or Firefox.

Perhaps the newest version of Firefox or Flash 10.x has solved the problem.  I still have to suspect that the problem was in the 2008 version of Gecko.

Comment 6

[Benjamin Smedberg]

Resolving old bugs which are likely not relevant any more, since NPAPI plugins are deprecated.