A Dozen Patches From Microsoft Next Week

From Koset

A Dozen Patches Expected From Microsoft Next Week

Microsoft Corp. said today that it plans to release at least a dozen patch bundles next Tuesday to plug security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and other software.

This patch batch could wind up breaking records for the most number of vulnerabilities fixed in one go by the company, as each patch can and often does address multiple security flaws. Microsoft said most of them will address "critical" flaws -- security holes so serious that they could be exploited by an attacker or computer worm to take complete control over the affected computer with little or any action on the part of the user.

The company said it plans to release at least three patches to fix security problems in its Microsoft Office productivity suites. Currently, there are more than a half dozen unpatched Office flaws for which exploit code is already available online, and most of those are already being exploited for targeted attacks.

Interestingly, Microsoft noted that one of the critical patch bundles will address security flaws in Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft Antigen, Microsoft Windows Defender, and Microsoft ForeFront -- Microsoft programs designed to defend Windows machines from spyware, viruses and worms.

As always, Security Fix will bring you the lowdown on these updates when Microsoft officially releases them on Tuesday.