Patches Coming for 49 Vulnerabilities in Windows, IE, Office, and.NET

 Microsoft is gearing up to release patches for a record number of security vulnerabilities affecting a range of its products, including the latest iteration of Windows and Office.

The Redmond company will plug almost 50 security holes in Windows and Internet Explorer, as well as in the Office productivity suite and the .NET Framework.

The security bulletins will be released next week, on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 as a part of the software giant’s patch cycle.

“This month as part of our predictable security update process we are releasing 16 comprehensive bulletins addressing 49 vulnerabilities,” revealed Carlene Chmaj, Microsoft Security Response Senior Communications Manager.

“These vulnerabilities cover Windows, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and the .NET Framework. Four of the bulletins carry a Critical rating, ten are Important and two are Moderate.”

Windows 7 will be impacted by all the Critical security bulletins scheduled for release the coming week. However, one of the updates is actually designed to resolve security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), the browser that ships by default with Windows 7.

In addition, one of the Critical Windows security bulletins is only designed to patch the 64-bit (x64) flavor of Windows 7, and not the 32-bit (x86) variant.

Windows 7 customers will also have to download and deploy six Important security bulletins, as well as an update patch package rated Moderate.

What’s interesting is that, for the first time since its release earlier this year, Office 2010 will also be getting patched.

According to the software giant, one security bulletin rated Important is designed to resolve security vulnerabilities in the latest version of the Office System.

Ahead of October 2010, customers that were running Office 2010 RTM have had a smooth ride and clear skies, with Microsoft offering no patches for their version of the Office productivity suite.