Microsoft Word vulnerability becomes

The software giant said it would quickly release a patch for the recently discovered vulnerability in the Microsoft Word application, after it was exploited into a series of sophisticated online attacks.

Microsoft plans to release the patch on June 13, or sooner depending on the situation. This vulnerability affects all users of Word XP and Word 2003.

The vulnerability in Word 2003 is being exploited for widespread phishing attacks.Source: Amazon

In the meantime, users are advised to run Word in "Safe Mode" to prevent the risk of the system being exploited by hackers.

The emergency statement issued by Microsoft came after security companies announced the discovery of widespread "phishing" attacks on a range of companies and government agencies in the US and EU. The attacker took advantage of the vulnerability in Word to implant Trojan programs into computer loopholes.

Currently, these phishing attacks are still rated at "low risk" with the majority of the above targets. However, the situation may change if the scale of exploiting vulnerabilities in Word is replicated, SANS technology director warned.

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