There are three security bulletins rated as Important that impact Windows and Microsoft Office. One is related to Microsoft Visio, one is connected to the client / server runtime subsystem, and the third has to do with kernel-mode drivers. But, the security bulletin that is hogging the attention this month is MS11-053.

According to Microsoft, the critical flaw lays in the Windows Bluetooth Stack--the driver that enables Windows to connect with Bluetooth devices. An attacker may be able to remotely compromise and gain full access to a vulnerable system via its Bluetooth networking. Microsoft also points out, though, that this vulnerability only affects systems with Bluetooth capability.

Joshua Talbot, Security Intelligence Manager at , explains, "An attacker would exploit this by sending specific malicious data to the targeted computer while establishing a Bluetooth connection," adding that a successful exploit would grant the attacker complete access to the system without any alert or notification to warn the targeted user that a rogue PC has connected via Bluetooth.

Andrew Storms, Director of Security Operations for , agrees that MS11-053 is serious, but with some caveats. "This seems pretty scary at first glance, but it's a good idea to consider the details of the vulnerability before getting all worked up about it. This bug requires that Bluetooth on a PC be set in 'discoverable' mode, and this is not the default setting. If Bluetooth is not set to 'discoverable', the attacker will need to use another approach to attack the PC before they can take advantage of the Bluetooth bug."

Talbot concurs, stating, "It's unlikely it could be used in a widespread attack because an attacker would have to be within Bluetooth range to exploit it. Thus, a specific target would likely already have to be identified and that person's whereabouts known to the attacker."