11 fixes coming in next week's Patch Tuesday
Microsoft today said it would issue six security updates next week, four of them critical, to patch 11 bugs in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, SQL Server and its virtual private networking platform. One of the updates, labeled Bulletin 4, looks like the one that should top the to-do list next Tuesday when Microsoft ships its monthly security updates, said a security expert.
The quartet marked "critical," Microsoft's most dire threat ranking in its four-step scoring system, included Windows, Internet Explorer and Office updates, while the remaining pair were tagged "important," the second-level rating. Five of the six -- including one of those labeled as important -- will patch bugs that Microsoft said could be exploited by attackers to compromise PCs and plant malware on victimized machines.
"[Bulletin 4] is a head-scratcher," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security. "Usually a bulletin covers developer tools or servers or Office, but whammo, here's one with everything."
