When it comes to computing security, this is one of the more normal things to happen. The recently discovered zero-day flaw that Redmond said was affecting Windows Vista computers, is also present on Windows XP installations.
Meaning, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are all in the affected camp.
In fact, users of the ancient operating system seem to be exposed to incoming attacks that exploit this particular vulnerability, Microsoft recently confirmed.
In a statement talking about the 0-day flaw, the company said that Office 2010 is only affected when it is being run on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 — other platforms, however, are safe on this version of the Office productivity suite.
Office 2013, the latest and greatest variant of the suite is not affected, period. At the same time Office 2003 and Office 2007 are sitting ducks. Both versions are vulnerable, regardless of platform:
“Currently, we are only aware of targeted attacks against Office 2007 users. In those attacks, Windows XP was the operating system seen in use.”
Microsoft has already released a handy little Fix It solution that takes care of this vulnerability, though it is a manual download and deploy. An automated patch, however, is expected in December that will completely address the vulnerability.
