Microsoft to Deliver Six Security Bulletins, Some Critical

Microsoft confirmed on Nov. 9 that it will ship at least six security bulletins as part of its monthly effort to patch vulnerabilities discovered in its products.

The Redmond, Wash. software maker said that it will deliver fixes for five Windows security issues in November’s Patch Tuesday release, at least one of which will be tabbed as critical, the company’s most severe vulnerability rating.

While Microsoft did not preview the release of any security bulletins aimed at patching holes in its Office software, the company said it plans to ship an update to its XML Core Services package which will also bear the critical label.

The XML Core Services bulletin will likely replace an existing workaround issued by the company on Nov. 6 to fix a zero-day vulnerability in the software that is already being exploited by hackers in live attacks.

The bug in Microsoft XML Core Services, formerly known as the Microsoft XML Parser, is caused by an unspecified error in the XMLHTTP 4.0 ActiveX Control and has been rated “extremely critical” by security alerts aggregator Secunia, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Software affected by the bulletin is expected to include Windows 2000 (including Service Pack 4), Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

Microsoft said customers who are running Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 in default configurations, with the Enhanced Security Configuration turned on, are not affected.

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