Microsoft issues three critical patches

All three vulnerabilities, if exploited, could allow an attacker to take "complete control of the affected system," according to Microsoft.

One of the vulnerabilities is in Word while another flaw exists in the Microsoft Color Management module. An attacker could exploit the color module vulnerability by building a malicious image file that could affect a user visiting a malicious web site or viewing email.

The third problem affects JView Profiler, an interface to Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine. An intruder could exploit the flaw by creating a malicious web site that could permit remote code execution if a user visits the site.

Patches for the vulnerabilities are available at www.microsoft.com