Microsoft Fixes 31 Flaws in 10 Updates

Microsoft Fixes 31 Flaws in 10 UpdatesMicrosoft released 10 updates to various versions of Windows, fixing a record 31 security flaws in a total of 10 updates.

31 security flaws in a total of 10 updates, is the largest number of vulnerabilities fixed in a single day since October 2003, when the company began issuing regular patches on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.

In total, the patches repaired several vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows 2000, Vista, XP, Windows Server 2003 and 2008, Office and multiple versions of Internet Explorer, including IE8, with six of the 10 patches designated for errors reckoned grave.

Security experts said that the anomaly occurred in Internet Information Service (IIS) would enable a hacker to access user names and passwords for other accounts on the server, which in turn could be used to launch a nasty attack on the server itself.

The patch as well fixed "important" vulnerabilities in RPC and Windows Kernel, both of which let an attacker to gain illicit entrance to a user's system.

Speaking on the issue, Steve Manzuik (senior manager of security research for Juniper Networks) said, "While they're never fully secure, they've raised the bar [for attackers to] find vulnerabilities."