The plug-and-play vulnerability that caused havoc for Windows 2000 users last week also holds a serious risk for some Windows XP users, Microsoft said Tuesday.

Computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 1 in a specific configuration are vulnerable to worm attacks similar to the ones that hit Windows 2000 systems, Microsoft said in a security advisory published Tuesday.

The Zotob worm and its offshoots, plus several other worms, downed Windows 2000 computers, including systems at ABC, CNN and The New York Times. All the worms exploited a security hole in the plug-and-play feature in Windows, for which Microsoft provided a fix earlier this month and rated as “critical” for Windows 2000.

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