Patch Tuesday fixes hat-trick of critical Windows flaws

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 7 Dec 2007 at 09:28

Microsoft will fix three critical Windows flaws in this month's Patch Tuesday.

The flaws affect all versions of supported Windows, including Vista. All three could lead to remote code execution on the affected machine.

The critical flaws involve DirectX/DirectShow, Windows Media Format Runtime and Internet Explorer 6/7. Microsoft doesn't provide exact details of the flaws, presumably to prevent hackers from exploiting them before the patch is released on 11 December.

In addition to the three critical flaws, Microsoft will also fix four "important" issues - the company's second highest threat level.

Two of the important flaws are specifically related to Vista, and again relate to remote code execution and elevation of user privileges.

The other two both affect Windows XP and a variety of other flavours of Windows.

For full details of the patch, see Microsoft's security bulletin.