Microsoft today confirmed that it will fix a Flash Player vulnerability within Internet Explorer 10 now, rather than waiting until after the general release of Windows 8 next month.

"In light of Adobe's recently released security updates for its Flash Player, Microsoft is working closely with Adobe to release an update for Adobe Flash in IE10 to protect our mutual customers," Yunsun Wee, director of trustworthy computing at Microsoft, said in a statement. "This update will be available shortly."

As noted by ZDNet, Microsoft initially planned to wait until after the 26 October release of Windows 8 to fix the IE10 flaw. Fixes have already been released for earlier versions of IE on Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP SP3, while Firefox and Chrome are also in the clear. But Flash within IE10 is a different beast and must be patched by Microsoft, so the company decided to wait, until now that is.

"Ultimately, our goal is to make sure the Flash Player in Window 8 is always secure and up-to-date, and to align our release schedule as closely to Adobe's as possible," Wee said.

PCMag's networking and security analyst, Fahmida Rashid, said that Flash Player is built-in to Windows 8 and not a separate plug-in, which is why Microsoft is pushing the update instead of creator Adobe.

Rashid suggested that this is the first time Microsoft has patched an OS before officially launching the system, but noted "the entire point of a preview is that it's supposed to be rough, and buyer beware."

Microsoft unveiled the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 8 in mid-August, and the OS is currently in use by a variety of testers and other tech enthusiasts.

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