Enterprise customers who are using Windows Server Update Services will receive the update automatically, the company said in a statement this afternoon. Manual downloads will be available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-001.mspx.

In addition, the update is supported by Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0, Systems Management Server and Software Update Services, the company said. Individual users who use Automatic Updates will receive the patch automatically when it becomes available.

Microsoft had originally said it would release the patch next Tuesday as part of its regularly scheduled monthly updates. But the company has been under mounting pressure from users and security analysts in the wake of a growing number of attack methods targeting the flaw. Those attack methods became more numerous over the past few days.

'Microsoft will continue to monitor attack data, which has thus far indicated that the attacks exploiting this vulnerability are limited and mitigated by efforts to shut down malicious Web sites and with up-to-date signatures from antivirus solutions,' the company said in its statement.

In addition to the patch for the WMF flaw being released Thursday, Microsoft will also release a security bulletin detailing updates for flaws in Windows, Exchange and Office products that will be released on Jan 10. The maximum severity rating for the flaws described in these bulletins is critical, the company said in an advance notification released Thursday.