The new error caused Office 2003 to die unexpectedly.

Symantec warned that Word 2003 and Excel 2003 could be hung up if the user opened a transplanted file that exploited a newly discovered error in the package.

In a warning message sent to customers in the DeepSight system, the security firm said the error was discovered by a Russian researcher nicknamed " sehato ". Researchers claim that hackers can take advantage of this error to take down all Office applications.

Microsoft said that this new bug was not a security error.

" We have completed the investigation of newly discovered errors in Office 2003 and Excel 2003 and officially denied this is not a security error ," a Microsoft spokesman said. " It's just a bug that causes the app to hang. If the application is restarted, it will return to normal ."

" Hackers can remotely attack this security hole by creating a malicious WMF file and tricking users into opening it ," the report of Symantec's new Office 2003 bug confirmed.

In fact, errors related to WMF image files were discovered and became a tool for hackers to attack users in late 2005 and early 2006. There have been hundreds of malicious websites appearing and attacking. user via WMF error.

However, this newly discovered error has a different point than the WMF error detected at the time mentioned above. The error in Excel 2003 could be exploited with a malicious spreadsheet file instead of a WMF file, Symantec said.

Not only Word and Excel 2003, but also Windows Explorer of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP can be attacked through the above error. Windows Explorer will hang if a malicious WMF file is opened. Microsoft confirmed that the company is investigating further errors in Windows Explorer.

Both Symantec and Microsoft have confirmed that there have not been any exploits to attack these newly discovered errors.

Hoang Dung