Security & Privacy + Software & Apps

Microsoft has released Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Service Pack 1, a major update to Office 2008, which also contains some security fixes that Microsoft says are critical. In Microsoft’s security bulletin describing the issues, the company says:

“This security update resolves several privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Word file. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.”

Whatever the vulnerabilities, the effects could be disastrous. It is rare that we see something that could allow attackers to create new accounts, install programs, and delete data. It is strongly recommended that you install this update immediately.

But the security fixes are not just for Office 2008. They cover Office 2004, as well as just about every version of Office for Windows. You can download the Office 2008 update here; it’s 180 MB. The Office 2004 update is here; it’s only 9 MB.