The company also released a patch for another critical security flaw identified in its Microsoft Content Server platform, warning that the problem could allow hackers remote control of the system.
Five of the six bugs reported in the routine monthly Microsoft Security Bulletin for April were rated as critical, recommending that users update their software immediately.
The bulletin also rated the security hole identified in a Windows Vista messaging function as critical. The problem could lead to hackers taking over a machine, and users should be patched immediately.
“Critical” is the most serious of Microsoft’s four-level security rating system and is defined by the company as “a vulnerability whose exploitation could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action.”
Though the security patches were published part of Microsoft’s regular monthly release of fixes, the company last week broke the routine to issue an emergency fix for a problem found in Windows cursor animation files that was being widely exploited by hackers.
Microsoft has also reported that the cursor animation fix, which applied to all current Windows, including Vista, caused problems with some third-party software programs, in particular those related to audio files.
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