American software titan Microsoft Corporation has revealed that its monthly patch release, which is due to be unleashed for download next Tuesday (June 10), will include three critical fixes addressing issues directly affecting Internet Explorer, DirectX, and Bluetooth.
Microsoft to launch patch release on Tuesday. Three critical vulnerabilities will be addressed. Image: Microsoft Corp.
While full details relating to the patch update will not be disclosed by Microsoft until Tuesday, news of the three critical fixes was confirmed ahead of time by the company through its official online notification bulletin board.
According to Microsoft, the three critical vulnerabilities it has earmarked prior to the update’s arrival could be exploited by a remote attacker if left unattended.
The end result of any focused attack on the three problem areas could then lead to the delivery of malware that would potentially wrestle system control away from the affected user.
While in-depth details pertaining to the critical flaws are also still unknown, the incoming fixes for the Internet Explorer Web browser and DirectX application programming interface (API) are both related to Internet Explorer 7, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and also Windows Server versions 2003 and 2008.
Existing as a separate vulnerability, the imminent Bluetooth fix addresses issues affecting the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems. The remaining secondary fixes due to land on Tuesday cover various issues labelled by Microsoft as “important” and “moderate.”
Specifically, the ‘important’ category includes problems connected to numerous Windows OS editions that concern flaws within the PGM (Pragmatic General Multicast) protocol, the Active Directory and WINS (Windows Internet Names Service), which, if exploited could prompt a denial of service attack and/or covertly increased system access to an outside user.
The ‘moderate’ category covers a ‘Kill Bit’ glitch that reportedly affects Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server versions 2003 and 2008. Repairing the vulnerability cripples any guilty or malicious code carrying a known security threat.
Although Microsoft is following its usual release form by preparing its monthly patch update, it remains to be seen whether the software giant uses Tuesday’s opportunity to also bundle in a fix for the recently revealed -- and much talked about -- flaw in Apple’s Safari Web browser.
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