Microsoft rushes out fix to Office security exploit
Microsoft has released an emergency software fix after it learned hackers had exploited a previously undiscovered security flaw in its widely used Office software to infect the PCs of its customers with tainted Word documents.
The software maker said on its website it had released the software, known as a "Fix It", as a temporary measure until it provides an update that will automatically patch computers to protect against the new threat.
Microsoft said it had learnt of a "very limited" number of attacks that exploited the newly discovered vulnerability, mainly in the Middle East and South Asia. The company did not identify the victims, who received emails asking them to open the tainted Word documents. The vulnerability affects customers using Office 2003 and Office 2007 as well as those running Office 2010 on Windows XP and Server 2003.
