Microsoft Patches New and Old Software Flaws

October 15th, 2009

Microsoft released its largest-ever batch of security updates Tuesday, fixing 33 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, and other popular software. Eight of the updates are rated critical and five are rated important.

All the critical vulnerabilities are labeled as remote code execution, which would require system restarts and impact a very broad range of Windows platforms and applications, according to Lumension security and forensic analyst Paul Henry. But, he noted, IT administrators should pay attention to two particular security bulletins, as their vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild: MS09-050 and MS09-053.

MS09-050 is a critical vulnerability that impacts both Vista and Windows 2008 platforms. While only rated as important, Henry said, MS09-053 should be considered a priority for organizations running public-facing FTP servers. He said organizations that use the Internet daily should also pay close attention to the high-priority critical client-side issues that could allow drive-by hacking exploits.

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