The Windows Meta File flaw has spawned many attacks, and 99% of Windows computers are vulnerable.
sxwarren's diary from earlier this afternoon has a great deal of information regarding it and
CNET has posted an article, as well.
A flaw in Microsoft's Windows Meta File has spawned dozens of attacks since its discovery last week, security experts warned Tuesday.
The attacks so far have been wide-ranging, the experts said, citing everything from an MSN Messenger worm to spam that attempts to lure people to click on malicious Web sites.
The vulnerability can be easily exploited in Windows XP with Service Pack 1 and 2, as well as Windows Server 2003, security experts said. Older versions of the operating system, including Windows 2000 and Windows ME, are also at risk, though in those cases the flaw is more difficult to exploit, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure.
more below the fold:
Microsoft plans to release a fix for the WMF vulnerability as part of its monthly security update cycle on Jan. 10, according to the company's security advisory.
"We have seen dozens of different attacks using this vulnerability since Dec. 27," Hypponen said. "One exploits image files and tries to get users to click on them; another is an MSN Messenger worm that will send the worm to people on your buddy list, and we have seen several spam attacks."
He added that some of the spam attacks have been targeted to select groups, such as one that purports to come from the U.S. Department of State. The malicious e-mail tries to lure the user to open a map attachment and will then download a Trojan horse. The exploit will open a backdoor on the user's system and allow sensitive files to be viewed.
The WMF flaw has already resulted in attacks such as the Exploit-WMF Trojan, which made the rounds last week.
There was another diary about this by IkeArumba that has valuable information and tips in it.