Microsoft just patched a major security issue with Internet Explorer

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Windows users have just received a very alarming notification from Microsoft. The company prompted users to install an out-of-band emergency security patch as Microsoft released a security update outside its usual monthly patching cycle.

Microsoft explained the patch in an advisory where they stated that there was a major security flaw in a version of Internet Explorer due to which an attacker could easily remotely run malicious code on any affected device.

A user can be vulnerable to an attack if they accidentally visit a malicious web page or by being tricked into clicking on a link in an email

Imagine your device being broken into due to Internet Explorer, a browser which most people probably don’t even know exists on their device thanks to the introduction of Microsoft Edge and other, typically better options like Chrome and Firefox.

READ MORE: RIP: Internet Explorer rides off into the sunset on June 15

Microsoft states that “An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could take control of an affected system.” They also stated that the vulnerability was under active exploitation, however, the details of the vulnerability have been kept private momentarily.

Recent data shows us that almost 7 percent of all browser users are currently running an affected version of Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11.  Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and all other supported versions of Windows are affected. You can download the security patch via Windows Update.

Microsoft also fixed an issue regarding Windows Defender, where if exploited, a user was vulnerable to a denial-of-service condition which resulted in the app failing to work. Read more about that here.

What do you think? Surprised by the news regarding an Internet Explorer vulnerability? Do you still use IE? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Murtaza Islam

Murtaza is a Computer Science student who takes immense interest in mobile technology. He believes the future of computing lies in smartphones because ARM architecture will eventually take over. He also loves to tinker with ROMs and kernels keeping up with the latest in smartphones.