Microsoft is prepping six security bulletins to be released in next week's Patch Tuesday to fix problems in Windows, Office and the .Net Framework. The exact number of patches the six security bulletins will contain was not revealed by Microsoft.
The three vulnerabilities labeled as 'critical' involve buffer overflow errors that would allow remote code execution on a compromised system, one will secure Microsoft Excel, another will fix Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, and the third one will patch .Net Framework. A couple of flaws labeled as 'important' will also be addressed to fix holes in Publisher 2007 and Windows XP Professional SP2 that could lead to compromised or stolen data. A sixth flaw, ranked 'moderate', is limited to Windows Vista.
Windows users have faced 41 bulletins in the first half of 2007, two more than the 39 in the first seven months last year. Along with Tuesday's update, Microsoft will also release an updated version of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool.