Microsoft Pushes Patches for Dozens of Flaws
Microsoft today released nine update bundles to plug at least 55 distinct security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and other software. Three of the patches fix bugs in Windows that Microsoft considers “critical,” meaning they can be exploited remotely to compromise vulnerable systems with little or no help from users, save for perhaps clicking a link or visiting a hostile Web site.
The bulk of the flaws (41) addressed in this update apply to Internet Explorer, the default browser on Windows. This patch should obviously be a priority for any organizations that rely on IE. Other patches fix bugs in the Windows OS itself and in various versions of Microsoft Office. A full breakdown of the patches is available here.
Among the more interesting critical patches is a fix for a vulnerability in Microsoft Group Policy that could present unique threats for enterprises that rely on Active Directory, the default authentication mechanism on corporate Windows networks. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable and can be used to grant attackers administrator-level privileges on the targeted machine or device – that means 10s of millions of PCS, kiosks and other devices, if left untreated.
