When no one knew the hole (20 years! lol - it seems unbelievable, but in security issues it's possible), everyone was quite safe. But not 100% safe, still probably >99.9% safe.
But today that the exploit is on public domain, everyone know it and can try to figure out how to exploit, this can excalate quick.
PS: by the way, when an exploit is possible, it's better not to ignore, but speak to all the community and try the best to fix it. :)