All the reported security issues are classified as Priority 3, which in Adobe parlance means "...vulnerabilities in a product that has historically not been a target for attackers." In such cases, Adobe recommends that "administrators install the update at their discretion."

Adobe's website further stated, "For users who cannot upgrade...Adobe recommends users follow security best practices and exercise caution when opening files from unknown or untrusted sources."

Whereas yesterday that upgrade recommendation would have required purchasing the new CS6 versions, later in the evening, the company changed its mind and decided to issue free patches for CS5, as is customary with supported products.

In explaining its previous position earlier in the day, the Adobe spokesperson had said that since the vulnerabilities had been resolved with the new CS6 version, "no dot release was scheduled or released for Adobe Photoshop CS5. In looking at all aspects, including the vulnerabilities themselves and the threat landscape, the team did not believe the real-world risk to customers warranted an out-of-band release for the CS5 version to resolve these issues."

The spokesperson had further said that, "we are not aware of any exploits targeting any of the issues fixed..."