Posted just recently by Patience... don't freak out, they are going to fix it. But I bet you get lots of spam tonight!

Hi everyone,

Earlier today, we discovered a very serious potential exploit in the Auction System.

The good news:
We already have a fix which we're currently testing. This fix will be rolled into the game as quickly as possible. In order to do this, we will try to move our next patch forward by a day and schedule it for tomorrow (time TBA).

The bad news:
In the meantime, we're closing the Auction Houses throughout the game.
Players will not be able to post new auctions or bid on existing auctions.

Here's what this means to current users of the Auction System:

• Any auction which was scheduled to end between the time we closed the auction houses and the time we come back up after patching, will end on schedule.
  • If the item had a bid before the system was shut down, the item will go to the highest bidder when the auction system is re-opened..
  • If the item did not have a bid, it will be returned to its owner when the auction system is re-opened.
• Any auction which was not scheduled to end until after the auction houses are re-opened will continue normally.
• If you try to bid on an auction now, you will receive an error about the maximum number of outstanding bids being reached.

Unfortunately, listing fees will not be automatically refunded by the system. We're assessing this situation to determine the impact on players and will have more information about the issue tomorrow. Tonight, our priority is testing the fix and getting the Auction System back up and running as soon as possible.

We know how important the auction houses are to players and we're doing everything possible to fix things quickly and safely. Rest assured that auction data is intact and that your auctions will be completed properly.

I'll have the patch notes for the rest of the patch up shortly, so stay tuned!

-Meghan

P.S. Don't blame the bunnies. It really wasn't their fault.
P.P.S. Discussion thread here: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=39344

Original thread can be found here.