Word 2000 + Windows 2000 = Extremely Critical Flaw

An "extremely critical flaw" in Microsoft Word 2000 is currently being exploited by malicious attackers, which could lead to remote execution of code on a user's system, security researcher Secunia advised yesterday in a C|NET story appearing today. The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents, according to Secunia's security advisory.

Symantec detected the Trojan MDropper.Q exploit several days ago. It uses a two-step attack. Trojan MDropper.Q exploits the Microsoft Word vulnerability to drop another file, a new variant of Backdoor.Femo, according to a security advisory by Symantec.

Will this incident increase the rate of migrations to the free and functionally compatible OpenOffice? And, how will this latest hole in Microsoft security affect Microsoft Office, their long-time cash cow?