A recently discovered exploit that was found in earlier versions of Word for Windows and Mac does not affect WordPad, the free word processor that"s included in all versions of Windows.
The security advisory that was released earlier this week concerning the Word issue has now been updated with this additional topic in its FAQ:
How is Microsoft WordPad affected by the vulnerability? WordPad is not affected by the vulnerability.
Just a reminder: The exploit was found being used by unknown groups to attack Microsoft Word 2010 but it affects all versions of the applications for Windows and Mac. The company said at the time:
An attacker could cause remote code execution if someone was convinced to open a specially crafted Rich Text Format (RTF) file or a specially crafted mail in Microsoft Outlook while using Microsoft Word as the email viewer.
Microsoft has released a manual "Fix-It" patch for the Word exploit that will close the hole in all of the other applications that are affected. The company is currently working on a permanent fix that will be released later via its automatic update service.
Microsoft just launched a version of Word for the iPad, along with other Office applications. So far there"s no word on if the iPad version is affected by the same exploit. We have emailed Microsoft for comment.
Update: We have just received confirmation from a Microsoft spokesperson that the new Word for iPad app is also not affected by the exploit.
Source: Microsoft