Hot on the heels of an
update that fixed the recent zero-day flaw discovered in Internet Explorer versions 7, 8, and 9, Microsoft has released a separate patch that solves issues related to the Adobe Flash Player component of Internet Explorer 10.
The current Flash vulnerabilities only affect IE 10 running on Windows 8 and Windows 2012 server, meaning most Windows users are in the clear. But although Redmond's latest operating systems have yet to ship to retail customers, they are already available to volume licensees and subscribers to Microsoft's MSDN and TechNet programs.
Previous versions of IE displayed Flash content using Adobe's Flash Player plugin. But in IE 10, Microsoft has made Flash an integral part of the browser, with the goal of providing a "
plugin-free" browsing experience. As a result, Flash security fixes for IE 10 must come from Microsoft, not Adobe.