News
Mozilla Rushes Out Firefox Hotfix After NVIDIA Glitch Triggers Web Chaos
<p data-start="413" data-end="538">A small change in Firefox&#8217;s graphics handling has sparked big problems for NVIDIA users — now Mozilla&#8217;s scrambling to fix it.</p>
<p data-start="540" data-end="939">Just days after rolling out Firefox 139 with headline features like Full-Page Translations, Mozilla has been forced to issue a hotfix. Version 139.0.1 went live midweek after users on Reddit and Mozilla forums reported severe visual glitches. The culprit? A subtle graphics tweak that didn’t sit well with NVIDIA GPUs — especially on setups with multiple monitors running at different refresh rates.</p>
<p data-start="941" data-end="1159">The glitch caused flickering videos, flashing web pages, and strange artifacts that made everyday browsing unbearable for some. Mozilla says it has now identified the issue and pushed a fix. Here’s how it all unfolded.</p>
<h2 data-start="1161" data-end="1209">A Broken Browsing Experience for NVIDIA Users</h2>
<p data-start="1211" data-end="1427">It didn’t take long for users to start complaining. Hours after Firefox 139 launched on May 27, threads popped up on Reddit showing video playback corruption and weird behavior on websites like Instagram and YouTube.</p>
<p data-start="1429" data-end="1652">Some thought it was a driver issue. Others blamed Windows 10. But the common thread was this: if you had an NVIDIA GPU and two monitors — one running at 60Hz, the other at a higher refresh rate — Firefox turned into a mess.</p>
<p data-start="1654" data-end="1873">One user wrote, “As soon as I scrolled on my high refresh rate screen, the video on my other monitor started flashing like crazy.” Another added, “It’s like the whole page glitches out, especially on media-heavy sites.”</p>
<p data-start="1875" data-end="1943">Single-monitor users? No issues. AMD and Intel setups? Totally fine.</p>
<p data-start="1875" data-end="1943"><a href="https://www.theibulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/firefox-browser-screen-artifact-issue-nvidia-gpu-bug.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-57555" src="https://www.theibulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/firefox-browser-screen-artifact-issue-nvidia-gpu-bug.jpg" alt="firefox browser screen artifact issue nvidia gpu bug

" width="1061" height="807" /></a></p>
<h2 data-start="1945" data-end="1973">What Actually Went Wrong?</h2>
<p data-start="1975" data-end="2241">Turns out, it was a Firefox thing — not a GPU or OS bug. The problem started when Mozilla quietly removed a block list in Firefox 139. That list had previously stopped Firefox from using a specific graphics path — called DirectComposition — under certain conditions.</p>
<p data-start="2243" data-end="2368">And that wasn’t random. That block list existed because some mixed-refresh setups on NVIDIA cards didn’t behave well with it.</p>
<p data-start="2370" data-end="2405">But with 139, the block was lifted.</p>
<p data-start="2407" data-end="2441">Which reintroduced an old problem.</p>
<p data-start="2443" data-end="2708">Here’s the technical gist: when you play a 60 FPS video on a 60Hz monitor and scroll or hover over content on a 144Hz or 165Hz display, frame buffers begin to leak. The result? Parts of the video end up flashing in places they shouldn’t. The effect is visual chaos.</p>
<p data-start="2710" data-end="2823">Interestingly, the bug doesn’t appear with 30 FPS content, since the frame timings align better between monitors.</p>
<h2 data-start="2955" data-end="3001">Mozilla Reacts Fast, Pushes Emergency Patch</h2>
<p data-start="3003" data-end="3142">Mozilla didn&#8217;t wait around. Within 48 hours of the complaints gaining traction, it had zeroed in on the problem and issued Firefox 139.0.1.</p>
<p data-start="3144" data-end="3343">The update brings back the old block list. That means mixed-refresh NVIDIA setups now avoid the problematic DirectComposition path altogether — like before. It’s a temporary fix, but a necessary one.</p>
<p data-start="3345" data-end="3393">Here’s what Mozilla listed in the release notes:</p>
<ul data-start="3395" data-end="3544">
<li data-start="3395" data-end="3544">
<p data-start="3397" data-end="3544">Fixed graphics corruption with certain NVIDIA graphics adapters and multiple monitors running at mixed refresh rates after updating to Firefox 139.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p data-start="3546" data-end="3672">You can get the fix now by heading into Firefox&#8217;s Settings >; General >; Firefox Updates and clicking Check for Updates.</p>
<h2 data-start="3674" data-end="3729">Why Only Firefox? The Unique DirectComposition Twist</h2>
<p data-start="3731" data-end="3835">Let’s be clear: DirectComposition isn’t broken. Firefox just uses it in a way that’s a bit&#8230; different.</p>
<p data-start="3837" data-end="4008">Most browsers rely on a Swapchain approach — which is safer on mixed-refresh setups. Firefox, however, uses Surfaces for most web content. That’s where the trouble starts.</p>
<p data-start="4010" data-end="4069">One Firefox engineer explained the distinction on Bugzilla:</p>
<p data-start="4073" data-end="4270">“Currently the only thing that makes Firefox special in this respect is that it uses Windows DirectComposition in a certain way (Surfaces rather than Swapchains) for the majority of web content&#8230;”</p>
<p data-start="4272" data-end="4458">This unique method gives Firefox fine-grained control over layers and rendering, but it also exposes users to edge-case bugs — especially on older or more complex monitor configurations.</p>
<h2 data-start="4460" data-end="4513">What&#8217;s Next? A New Rendering Engine on the Horizon</h2>
<p data-start="4515" data-end="4693">There is hope that these graphical headaches may soon be a thing of the past. Mozilla is currently working on a fresh rendering path known internally as the Layer Compositor.</p>
<p data-start="4695" data-end="4914">Unlike the existing system, this new codebase aligns more closely with how Chromium-based browsers (like Chrome and Edge) handle composition. That should mean fewer compatibility problems across various hardware setups.</p>
<p data-start="4916" data-end="5115">The Layer Compositor is already in testing internally and may land in Firefox Nightly builds in the coming weeks. Mozilla says it plans to test it rigorously on systems affected by the recent glitch.</p>
<p data-start="5117" data-end="5173">Here’s how current and upcoming rendering paths compare:</p>
<div class="_tableContainer_16hzy_1">
<div class="_tableWrapper_16hzy_14 group flex w-fit flex-col-reverse" tabindex="-1">
<table class="w-fit min-w-(--thread-content-width)" data-start="5175" data-end="5700">
<thead data-start="5175" data-end="5275">
<tr data-start="5175" data-end="5275">
<th data-start="5175" data-end="5196" data-col-size="sm">Renderer Type</th>
<th data-start="5196" data-end="5218" data-col-size="sm">Used By</th>
<th data-start="5218" data-end="5253" data-col-size="sm">Known Issues with Mixed-Refresh?</th>
<th data-start="5253" data-end="5275" data-col-size="sm">Status</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody data-start="5377" data-end="5700">
<tr data-start="5377" data-end="5485">
<td data-start="5377" data-end="5406" data-col-size="sm">DirectComposition Surfaces</td>
<td data-start="5406" data-end="5428" data-col-size="sm">Firefox (current)</td>
<td data-start="5428" data-end="5463" data-col-size="sm">Yes</td>
<td data-start="5463" data-end="5485" data-col-size="sm">Active</td>
</tr>
<tr data-start="5486" data-end="5596">
<td data-start="5486" data-end="5517" data-col-size="sm">DirectComposition Swapchains</td>
<td data-start="5517" data-end="5539" data-col-size="sm">Chrome, Edge</td>
<td data-start="5539" data-end="5574" data-col-size="sm">No</td>
<td data-start="5574" data-end="5596" data-col-size="sm">Standard</td>
</tr>
<tr data-start="5597" data-end="5700">
<td data-start="5597" data-end="5618" data-col-size="sm">Layer Compositor</td>
<td data-start="5618" data-end="5643" data-col-size="sm">Firefox (experimental)</td>
<td data-start="5643" data-end="5678" data-col-size="sm">Unknown</td>
<td data-start="5678" data-end="5700" data-col-size="sm">Testing Phase</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="sticky end-(--thread-content-margin) h-0 self-end select-none">
<div class="absolute end-0 flex items-end"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-start="5702" data-end="5813">For now, though, the safest route is to stay on Firefox 139.0.1 if you use an NVIDIA GPU and multiple monitors.</p>
<h2 data-start="5815" data-end="5854">Users Caught in the Crossfire, Again</h2>
<p data-start="5856" data-end="6077">This isn’t the first time Firefox’s graphics pipeline has caused grief for users. Over the past few years, Mozilla has had to tweak and re-tweak how it talks to GPUs — often trading performance gains for stability losses.</p>
<p data-start="6079" data-end="6249">And while most users won’t notice a difference, those with specific setups, like high-refresh gaming monitors, are often the ones who run into these obscure issues first.</p>
<p data-start="6288" data-end="6478">Still, the speed of Mozilla’s response has drawn some praise. Even frustrated users acknowledged the quick fix. “At least they listened,” one Redditor posted. “And the patch actually works.”</p>

Circle Stock Surges After Fiserv Deal Signals Stablecoins May Finally Be Going Mainstream
CoinMarketCap Supply Chain Attack Leaves Crypto Users Reeling After $43,000 Wallet Drain
Solana Slips as Bitcoin Soars: Can the High-Speed Crypto Still Catch Up?
Gordon Ramsay Fainted at Son’s Birth While Ed Sheeran Played in the Background
As AI hype grabs headlines, these two tech titans are doing more than talking — they’re cashing in
The Last of Us Season 3: Clarity, Chaos, and Characters We Thought Were Gone
Einstein and the Block Universe: Is Your Future Already Set?
XRP Eyes $3 as Crypto Markets See Whiplash Recovery and Bitcoin Roars Past $111K
Claude 4 Cuts Coding Errors by 25%, Gets Faster, Says Vibe Startup Lovable
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Faces Backlash Over New In-Game Ads for Premium Skins
-
News4 months agoTaiwanese Companies Targeted in Phishing Campaign Using Winos 4.0 Malware
-
News3 months agoJustin Baldoni Hits Back at Ryan Reynolds, Calling Him a “Co-Conspirator” in Blake Lively Legal Battle
-
News4 months agoApple Shuts Down ADP for UK iCloud Users Amid Government Backdoor Demands
