Microsoft admits Internet Explorer flaw 'targeted' by hackers
Summary: A Windows security vulnerability was exploited by hackers, the software giant noted in its monthly release of software updates.
Microsoft admitted this week that hackers had launched "targeted attacks" against its customers.
The disclosure was relegated to a footnote in its monthly memo about security flaws, dubbed Patch Tuesday.
VeriSign iDefense Labs' researcher Jose Antonio Vazquez Gonzalez reported the Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2013-3163).
"An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system," the security bulletin noted.
Editor's Note: The original version of this story, a longer opinion piece, included an error that conflated the fixes for two different flaws. Though the error did not impact the piece's central argument, it was included prominently in the headline and lead paragraph and served to frame the entire post. After consideration, we thought it prudent to reduce this post to just the facts. We apologize for any confusion we may have caused.