Just hours after software giant Microsoft released its latest set of developer tools, Visual Studio .Net, a security firm publicised a technical flaw in the tools that could leave programs open to hacker attacks.
Though the security risk is low because the tools have been released to developers only recently, the identification of the flaw comes as Bill Gates guides Microsoft through a 'Trustworthy Computing' campaign to emphasise the security of the firm's software.
Among highly publicised security problems from last year were the Code Red and Nimda worms, which targeted Internet servers running Microsoft software.
The company's operating systems and applications run on millions of computers worldwide, adding to Microsoft's allure as a target for hackers.
United States-based Cigital identified the .Net security hole and published a brief detailing it this week.
According to Cigital, Microsoft's C++ compiler, included in the .Net package, depends on a component that is meant to protect against a common type of hacker attack known as 'buffer overflow' but is itself vulnerable.