Microsoft to release four critical patches

Microsoft will release four critical updates to several software packages next Tuesday, the company said.

The patches to be released on so-called Patch Tuesday include fixes for a vulnerability that allows remote code execution in Windows Media Player 11 on various Microsoft operating systems and for a vulnerability that allows remote code execution in various versions of the Windows OS and related products, including 2003 Server, Vista, XP, Office, .Net Framework, Works, Visual Studio, Visual FoxPro and other software.

The two other patches will address remote code execution in Windows Media Encoder 9 and in Office and Office OneNote 2007.

More information is available at Microsoft's site.

Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of every month when Microsoft releases its security updates. In August, Microsoft released 12 updates, with seven of them critical. The company released five critical patches in July and three in June.

Microsoft gives users and security researchers a glimpse of security updates each Thursday before the Tuesday monthly patch releases. In October, the company will begin giving security vendors earlier access to technical details of monthly security patches before the updates are released.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.