Microsoft has issued Security Advisory 2847140 in response to reports regarding public exploitation of a vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer 8. Other versions such as Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 9, and Internet Explorer 10 are not affected. Initial reports indicate that a website associated with a department of the US government was compromised to host the exploit in what’s known as a watering hole attack. Upon visiting the site a vulnerable victim would have been redirected to download a back door as the payload. Symantec products detect the exploit code on the vulnerable site as Trojan.Malscript and the back door as Backdoor.Darkmoon.
Blog: New Internet Explorer 8 Zero-Day Usedin Watering-Hole Attack