Adobe confirms Windows 8 users vulnerable to active Flash exploits

Microsoft's Windows 8 is vulnerable to attack by exploits that hackers have been aiming at PCs for several weeks, Adobe confirmed Friday.

Microsoft said it will not patch the bug in Flash Player until what it called "GA," for "general availability." That would be Oct. 26, when Windows 8 hits retail and PCs powered by the new operating system go on sale.

"We will update Flash in Windows 8 via Windows Update as needed," a spokeswoman said in a reply to questions. "The current version of Flash in the Windows 8 RTM build does not have the latest fix, but we will have a security update coming through Windows Update in the GA timeframe."

Microsoft, not Adobe, is responsible for patching Flash Player in Windows 8 because the company took a page from Google's playbook and integrated the popular media software with Internet Explorer 10 (IE10), the new operating system's browser. Microsoft announced that move in late May when it launched the last public sneak-peak of Windows 8, or "Release Preview."

At the time, Dean Hachamovitch, the company's lead executive for IE, said, "By updating Flash through Windows Update, like IE, we make security more convenient for customers."

:story: Computerworld