Microsoft patches IE hole

VML fix released only a week after flaw exploited.

Microsoft

has released a patch for the widely publicised and much exploited security hole in its

Internet Explorer

browser, a little over a week after the flaw was brought to its attention by security researchers, the press and

Windows

users.

The VML vulnerability has been causing widespread worry, with numerous sites carrying malicious code designed to exploit the hole to drop malware onto users’ computers, and security admins trying to keep up with the rash of dangers presented. An

unofficial patch was released

by security taskforce

ZERT

at the end of last week, and now

Microsoft

has broken its traditional monthly ‘Patch Tuesday’ patching cycle to bring out an emergency fix.

‘This is good news for

Windows

users everywhere,’ said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. ‘

Microsoft

‘s record on fixing bugs has taken a lot of flak, and it seems they have realised a monthly release isn’t good enough when faced with fast-acting dangers like this one. Perhaps the unofficial patch released a few days after the vulnerability was unveiled helped spur them into action.’

Several other patches, including one for

Publisher

flagged as ‘critical’, were issued along with the

IE

fix. The updates should be available from the

Windows Update

site,

here

(note: may not work if you are not using

Internet Explorer

). Information on the patches issued is in the

Microsoft Security Bulletin

,

here

.

Posted on 27 September 2006 by

Virus Bulletin