14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft released no less than eight security bulletins for the various supported releases of Windows client and server operating systems, including for the latest service packs of Windows Vista and Windows XP. Out of the total of patch packages impacting Windows, half feature a maximum severity rating of Critical, with the remaining four being rated as Important. The security updates are available through Windows Update since August 11, 2009, and customers are advised to deploy the patches as soon as possible in order to bulletproof their systems against attacks.
“Of note, Microsoft released MS09-043 to help protect customers from attacks on the Office Web Components vulnerability previously addressed by Security Advisory 973472. I also wanted to let you know that MS09-037 addresses five privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL). Security Advisory 973882 has been updated with a reference to MS09-037. Additionally, Microsoft has released Security Advisory 973811 to include a non-security update that enables new protection technology on the Windows platform,” revealed Christopher Budd, security response communications lead for Microsoft.
In total, Microsoft patched 15 security holes in various Windows releases. As far as Windows XP is concerned, users will need to deploy MS09-044, MS09-038 and MS09-037, all rated Critical. XP is also impacted by three Important security bulletins, namely MS09-041, MS09-040 and MS09-042. For Windows Vista three Critical security updates have been made available: MS09-044, MS09-038 and MS09-037, two Important MS09-040, MS09-036, and two Moderate MS09-042 and MS09-041. It's worth mentioning that not all the security bulletins enumerated above apply to select Service Pack releases of Vista and XP.
Microsoft also “re-released two bulletins this month to address known issues with MS09-029 and to include additional updates for MS09-035. Specifically, the re-release of MS09-035 offers new updates for Visual Studio 2005 SP1, Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 SP1. For more information on this specific re-release, see Knowledge Base Article 969706 and Security Advisory 973882,” Budd added.