Windows vulnerable to document-based attack

According to Microsoft, all versions of Windows except Windows Server 2003 are vulnerable to attacks based on a bug in OLE (Object Linking and Embedding).

Attacks exploiting this vulnerability would take the form of a specially-crafted PowerPoint document.

Microsoft has released a Fix It solution that can be used to close this hole until a proper patch is released. If you commonly receive PowerPoint documents from unknown sources, you are strongly encouraged to apply this fix or refrain from opening those documents.

References:

  1. MSRC post about Security Advisory 3010060
  2. Security Advisory 3010060
  3. Fix It solution for Advisory 3010060

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

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