Microsoft to fix six critical flaws on Patch Tuesday

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS

The final 'Patch Tuesday' for 2008 will be significant, with six critical and two important bulletins due, according to Microsoft.

On Thursday, the company announced eight security bulletins set to go public on 9 December. The pre-announcement is intended as an advance warning for IT departments before Patch Tuesday. Six bulletins are considered 'critical' — the most serious ranking given by the software giant — and two are considered 'important' — the next level down.

Among the critical patches, two affect Windows, and there is one each that addresses issues in Word, Excel, Visual Basic and Internet Explorer. All flaws could enable remote code execution if exploited.

Of the 'important' bulletins, one is for SharePoint, and the other is for Windows Media Center.

Talkback

One of the fixes involves a 8-month-old privilege escalation vulnerability in XP, Vista, 2003 and 2008 that has exploit code reportedly available in the wild. When used in combination with a vulnerability that could allow remote code execution it could effectively allow exploits to be run at a higher level of privilege, potentially making this a much more serious issue.

Four critical updates, Windows 1 and 2, Microsoft Word and Excel bulletins, four key pieces of software and major applications used within the enterprise, will require reboots to their systems and servers, adding a degree of complexity and disruption to network productivity. While it may be tempting to avoid restarting servers and systems especially at this time of the year, it is imperative that all IT professionals pay particular attention to the critical updates and patch as quickly as business conditions permit.

Windows 1 affects all shipping versions of Windows platform while Windows 2 affects only Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The update for Internet Explorer is also another critical update that will be interesting to watch as it affects all commonly deployed versions of IE, including IE 7.

The Word bulletin is something people should be on the lookout for as this could impact Outlook 2007, one of the most commonly used email clients by businesses today. In particular, it could pose challenges for organisations that use Microsoft Word as the Outlook email editor. If exploits appear that attack this vulnerability, try disabling Word as the Outlook email editor until your organization has deployed the upcoming patch.

lumension 5 December, 2008 22:34
Reply

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

bordero

ike fuelband is great for every healthminded person ! to work out! theres this website called textme4free.com that you can use to text anywhere in...

8 hours ago by bordero on Nike's FuelBand wristband gamifies exercise
BrownieBoy

> I'm told it's somewhat annoying when people have their Macs stolen > and Apple stores treat the thief as the owner, but there you go. Ouch,...

10 hours ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
Moley

@kevinmchapman. OK, I acknowledge that 'most' was a gratuitous throwaway comment as an afterthought and too presumptuous. As to proof, as you...

15 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Jack Schofield

@BrownieBoy > Works really well for thieves.... >> Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally >> irrelevant, even...

16 hours ago by Jack Schofield on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
raskolnikof

fantastic that the so called piracy bills have been withdrawn. however, these anti-democracy supporters are still in the shadows so lets be alert...

17 hours ago by raskolnikof on SOPA, Protect IP support wavers in face of online protest
Tony Douglas

Please God no; teach them anything you like - thinking rationally, the uses and misuses of data, what data is and what it's not - but leave the...

19 hours ago by Tony Douglas via Facebook on Kids are the future. Teach ’em to code.
BrownieBoy

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

1 day ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

2 days ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

2 days ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

2 days ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

3 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

3 days ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

3 days ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

3 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

3 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

3 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

3 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

3 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

3 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany