Microsoft has confirmed it will issue an out-of-band patch to cover a zero-day flaw in Internet Explorer, excluding versions 9 and 10.
The memory corruption flaw was flagged at the start of the year, leading Microsoft to offer a workaround for users whilst it worked on a proper patch.
Microsoft will be releasing a patch later today, which should see the problem eradicated entirely.
“While we have still seen only a limited number of customers affected by the issue, the potential exists that more customers could be affected in the future. The bulletin has a severity rating of Critical,” Microsoft noted in a blog post.
“We recommend that you install this update as soon as it is available. This update for Internet Explorer 6-8 will be made available through Windows Update and our other standard distribution channels.
“If you have automatic updates enabled on your PC, you won’t need to take any action. If you applied the Fix it released in Security Advisory 2794220, you won’t need to uninstall it before applying the security update.”
Researchers have found a number of websites serving up exploits targeting the flaw, including US-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations and Capstone Turbine, a US micro-turbine manufacturer.
Symantec suggested the Elderwood Group of hackers were exploiting the vulnerability. The collective was suspected to have been involved in the hit on Google in the famous Aurora attacks of 2009/10.
What do you know about online security? Try our quiz and find out!
Northvolt files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, and CEO and co-founder…
Targetting AWS, Microsoft? British competition regulator soon to announce “behavioural” remedies for cloud sector
Move to Elon Musk rival. Former senior executive at X joins Sam Altman's venture formerly…
Bitcoin price rises towards $100,000, amid investor optimism of friendlier US regulatory landscape under Donald…
Judge Kaplan praises former FTX CTO Gary Wang for his co-operation against Sam Bankman-Fried during…
Explore the future of work with the Silicon In Focus Podcast. Discover how AI is…