Gadgets and Sidebar allow users to add visual information and small programs to the Windows desktop, including clock faces, music players and RSS feed readers.
Now, Microsoft has issued a Fix It solution to disable Gadgets and the Sidebar. These features, if left enabled, may allow the execution of arbitrary code, and could allow attackers to take complete control of a person’s system, Microsoft warns in a Knowledge Base article.
As Computerworld notes, researchers are getting ready to disclose Gadget vulnerabilities at the Black Hat conference this month. Microsoft describes the fix as a temporary workaround, so it's possible that the company will release a proper fix, but Microsoft hasn't said either way. More
