Microsoft Confirms Hackers Exploiting Critical IE Bug, Promises Patch
All but one supported edition of IE are affected: 2001’s IE6, 2006’s IE7, 2009’s IE8 and last year’s IE9. Together, those browsers accounted for 53% of all browsers used worldwide in August. The only exception was IE10, the browser bundled with the new Windows 8, which does not contain the bug.
Monday’s advisory was expected, said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security. “I think they had to get it out today,” said Storms late Monday in an interview over instant messaging. “Too many people watching and waiting for something official.”
Earlier Monday, Microsoft acknowledged that it was investigating reports of a vulnerability but did not promise a patch.
The bug, when Microsoft gets around to patching it, will be rated “critical,” the company’s highest threat ranking. Exploiting the flaw allows hackers to execute code — in other words, plant malware on a machine — and opens Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to drive-by attacks that only require getting victims to visit a malicious or compromised website.