US company Microsoft released an emergency patch for its Windows operating system to fix a serious exploit that plagued its OS for months.

A report on Engadget showed that Microsoft released this emergency patch to "address a critical flaw in the Windows Print Spooler service that bad actors are actively exploiting."

Microsoft did not explain how actors can use this serious security loophole, or whether they have caused such problems in the past. They have also not mentioned the extent of the damage that can take place were the loophole exploited.

The report also said: "Attackers taking advantage of the vulnerability can remotely run code with system-level privileges, giving them the ability to install programs in the victims' computers, delete or change data and create new accounts with full user rights."

The vulnerability affects all Windows editions. The company has advised users to disable Print Spooler to deactivate local and remote printing to prevent hackers from getting in.

Microsoft has recently issued an update for Windows Server, Windows 10, Windows 8, and even Windows 7, and is asking users to install the updates immediately.