Disable Flash uploader in Magento

As you know, Google Chrome and Mozilla disabled Flash over security concerns recently. Mozilla said Flash would remain on the Firefox block-list until Adobe fixes all known vulnerabilities.

There is a problem for all Magento store owners, because Magento images uploader is Flash based. It means that if you will update your browser version (or it will be updated automatically) and Flash will be in the block-list, you will be not able to upload any images: product images or CMS images using Magento back-end.

In this article we will show, how to disable Flash uploader in Magento and prevent the Flash related issues once and forever.

How to disable Flash uploader in Magento 1.4.x - 1.9.x

So what to do if one day you will discover that you simply cannot upload any images in your Magento administration panel due to Flash problem?

Don't panic, just follow these simple steps:

1. Find the Dull_Uploader (No Flash Image Uploader) module.

Unfortunately for some reason this module is not available in Magento Connect, but you can download it using these direct links:

The easiest way is to download TGZ archive.

2. Install this extension to your Magento connect manager.

- Go to System -> Magento connect -> Magento connect manager.
- Click "Browse" button in the "Direct package file upload" section and install the module.

During installation (it depends on Magento version you use), the system can show an error related with module version format. In order to fix it, try to open the TGZ archive, and modify the "package.xml" file (in the root of the archive) and replace this code: 

<version>1.1</version>

With:

<version>1.1.1</version>

Install the module once again.

After installation, your Magento images uploader will be replaced with simple web based method instead of Flash one. I hope this quick solution will help you to get rid of Flash related headache easily.