Microsoft March 09 Patch Tuesday: Three Security Holes
Next week, on the 10th of March, Microsoft will issue an update for their Windows-based operating system, just as they’ve always done as part of the Patch Tuesday program (issue an update every second Tuesday of the month). This March the update is meant to address a total of 3 security bulletins: 1 critical and 2 important.
"As part of this month’s security bulletin release process, we will issue three security bulletins to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. As we do each month, the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool will be updated. We are also planning to release high-priority, non-security updates on Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) as well as high-priority, non-security updates on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS),” explains the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).
Just as a little reminder, Microsoft uses a 4-tier severity ranking: critical, important, moderate and low. A vulnerability that has been deemed as “important” means that it has the potential to compromise the integrity, confidentiality or availability of the data stored on your machine. A “critical” security vulnerability means that it can be maliciously exploited and thus aid in the propagation of Internet worms – no user interaction is required. Microsoft, in a security bulletin that you can check out here, has specified that the critical vulnerability included in the March Patch Tuesday update could potentially allow a malicious attacker to perform remote code execution on the targeted machine.
You will have to restart your machine once the update process is complete. Please note that all Windows versions, including Vista and Windows Server 2008, are affected by the 3 vulnerabilities presented above. Consequently you should not pass on the March Patch Tuesday update, not if you want to keep your operating system safe from malicious attack that is.
"As part of this month’s security bulletin release process, we will issue three security bulletins to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. As we do each month, the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool will be updated. We are also planning to release high-priority, non-security updates on Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) as well as high-priority, non-security updates on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS),” explains the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).
Just as a little reminder, Microsoft uses a 4-tier severity ranking: critical, important, moderate and low. A vulnerability that has been deemed as “important” means that it has the potential to compromise the integrity, confidentiality or availability of the data stored on your machine. A “critical” security vulnerability means that it can be maliciously exploited and thus aid in the propagation of Internet worms – no user interaction is required. Microsoft, in a security bulletin that you can check out here, has specified that the critical vulnerability included in the March Patch Tuesday update could potentially allow a malicious attacker to perform remote code execution on the targeted machine.
You will have to restart your machine once the update process is complete. Please note that all Windows versions, including Vista and Windows Server 2008, are affected by the 3 vulnerabilities presented above. Consequently you should not pass on the March Patch Tuesday update, not if you want to keep your operating system safe from malicious attack that is.
