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Patch Tuesday Looks Light
Microsoft's patch rollout looks to be on the light side in September, with just five patches -- one of which is labeled "Critical" and four rated "Important" -- as part of its upcoming Patch Tuesday release.
The lone critical issue, like those in previous months, has potential remote code execution (RCE) implications that affect Windows but can be remedied by a quick restart and use of Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer to sweep the system for bugs and determine whether the system even requires an update.
The remaining four patches are for various products and applications including Visual Studio, Windows SharePoint Server, Windows Services for Unix, MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.
The security issues for the Windows-for-Unix and SharePoint notices involve "elevation of privilege," or access control risks, where unauthorized users could potentially change user rights settings. Meanwhile, it's RCE considerations for Visual Studio, MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger items.
Of the total five forecasted bulletins, three will require restarts.
Redmond will also release another update to the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal tool, and is rolling out one high-priority, non-security update on Microsoft Update and nothing for Windows Update.
Thursday's advance notification isn't set in stone but is a pretty good indication of what to expect. Looking ahead, it seems that for security managers, next Tuesday may represent more of an opportunity for value-added fixes than urgent ones.
About the Author
Jabulani Leffall is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Financial Times of London, Investor's Business Daily, The Economist and CFO Magazine, among others.