NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft has issued an emergency fix to close off a vulnerability in Microsoft’s SharePoint software that hackers have exploited to carry out widespread attacks on businesses and at least some federal agencies.

Hackers in recent weeks have exploited flaws in SharePoint, a document management system developed by Microsoft Corp., to try to steal sensitive data from hundreds of victims.

LONDON >> A security patch released by Microsoft earlier this month failed to fully fix a critical flaw in the U.S. tech company’s SharePoint server software that had been identified at a hacking competition in May,