Microsoft prompted to produce patch

Microsoft is working on a patch for a new security flaw in Office 97, which could allow hackers to delete files or manipulate data.

Microsoft is working on a patch for a new security flaw in Office 97, which could allow hackers to delete files or manipulate data.

The problem involves the ODBC driver, which handles database queries in Excel and means a spreadsheet sent by e-mail or opened from a Web site could exploit a weak point in the driver and trigger commands on the user's computer.

While virus checkers can check for macro viruses they do not look for database queries, leaving computers vulnerable.

It is reported that the bug was discovered in July by Juan Carlos Cuartango, a Spanish Web developer, who reported the problem to the NTBugTraq mailing list.

Microsoft says although an updated driver is available, it does not recommend this to solve the problem and is working on a solution which will be posted on its Web site. The bug does not affect Office 2000 or recent editions of Office 97.