PowerPoint is the target of a new exploit this week - coming agonizingly just after patch Tuesday, meaning we will probably have at least one month's wait for a fix.

The flaw, which has already been exploited, is in a string parser - always a fantastic source of memory-related errors. Secunia have give the vulnerability their highest security rating of "Extremely critical". It is likely that this flaw's exploit will be widely used, as PowerPoint presentations are pretty common, and like previous Excel exploits, many users will not suspect that a PowerPoint presentation could attack their system.

Antivirus engines are likely to pick up the most common of these exploits, assuming they are caught before they do damage, so keeping signatures up-to-date is vital. User education is paramount here - an email to your users reminding them of the dangers of opening unsolicited office documents might not go amiss.

More info:

• Secunia Advisory 21040
• Exploit discussed - Washington Post Blog