Microsoft issues out of band IE patch

Microsoft has issued another patch for Internet Explorer, this time outside of its regular monthly update cycle.

The patch fixes a zero-day flaw in IE6 and IE7 that takes advantage of an invalid pointed reference to allow remote code execution if a user visits a malware-loaded page.

Attackers have already been making use of the flaw, Microsoft said earlier this month.

"We have been monitoring this issue and have determined an out-of-band release is needed to protect customers," communications head Jerry Bryant said on the Microsoft security blog.

Microsoft stressed that most recent browser IE8 was not affected by the flaw, and again urged users to update to that version.

The update will also include fixes for nine other vulnerabilities in the browser, which were going to be released on 13 April as part of the monthly patching cycle - effectively giving admins two big patches to roll out in the next few weeks.

"Some of those also affect Internet Explorer 8," said Bryant. "All of the nine additional vulnerabilities were responsibly disclosed and we are not aware of any active attacks against them."

The patches will roll out later this afternoon, via Microsoft's automatic update process.