Microsoft hunts down targeted attacks on Word flaw

Microsoft is looking into a vulnerability that could affect Word, the company said on Monday.

Overall, Microsoft said, it believes the vulnerability's risk is limited because it requires people to take multiple steps for the hack to be successful. Microsoft said it is only aware of targeted attacks that take advantage of the flaw.

The vulnerability is in Microsoft's Jet Database engine, which can be exploited through Word. Microsoft is investigating whether other applications can also exploit the vulnerability.

According to Microsoft's security alert:

Customers running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 are not vulnerable to the buffer overrun being attacked, as they include a version of the Microsoft Jet Database Engine that is not vulnerable to this issue.

Customers using Microsoft Word 2000 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2002 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2007, and Microsoft Word 2007 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 are vulnerable to these attacks.

People who believe they have been attacked can go to the Microsoft Web site for support.

Like this article? Click below to send it to your mobile for free!

Advertisement

Talkback 0 comments


Sponsored content

Power Centre - Content from our premier sponsors

Blogs

  • Angus Kidman Storage infrastructure on the tender track
    For a large-scale storage project, it's not uncommon to go out to tender for the best deal — but when was the last time you had to put together a tender for a document management room?
  • Array Apple has killed the video store; will ISPs be next?
    The Olympics are nearly over, and the Australian team deserves kudos for an excellent performance all around. Yet even as the Olympic sun sets on the Bird's Nest for the last time this weekend, millions of spectators around the world will be scanning their dials in the hope of finding something else to fill their viewing hours.
  • Array Conroy's filtering plan: security worries
    Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has welcomed "improvements" in ISP filtering technologies, but will a broad-scale roll-out make ISPs a thief's favourite target?
  • More blogs »

Tags

Back to top

Featured