Microsoft readies Windows, Visual Studio security fixes
Microsoft plans to patch its Windows and Visual Studio products next week, but it does not have a fix in the works for a widely publicized flaw in Word, which hackers are reportedly exploiting in targeted attacks.
The company's security team is readying five sets of patches for Windows, and will also issue a single critical security update for Visual Studio, Microsoft said in an alert published Thursday.
Microsoft rates the most serious of its Windows updates as "critical," meaning an attacker could exploit the underlying flaw to run malware on a victim's PC with no user action, the company said.
These security patches are usually released on the second Tuesday of each month, and the company strives to publish a small number of updates in December, because IT operations are often short-staffed during the holiday season.
