Microsoft Set To Issue Largest Security Update Of Year

Microsoft is set to issue its largest security update of the year so far as part of the November edition of Patch Tuesday.

Windows and Office users can expect a host of fixes relating to 16 security bulletins on the 11 November. Five of these risks have been marked as "critical," with nine listed as "important" and two more as "moderate."

Some of the critical bulletins will affect a large proportion of uses with one such risk relating to all supported versions of Internet Explorer back to IE6. Windows bugs are also addressed, with no version of the operating system completely free of vulnerabilities. Even the Windows 10 Technical Preview will receive a security update.

Some of the flaws could enable attackers to carry out remote code execution or gain administrative privileges. Some of the less-critical bugs would allow hackers to bypass built-in security features.

While it may seem like this month's patch is revealing a worryingly high number of vulnerabilities, many of them will only affect a small percentage of users. Bulletin 6, for example, only relates to Microsoft Office 2007, while Bulletin 10 concerns specific components of SharePoint Foundation 2010 SP2.

The patch will be available via a Windows Update, so most users will receive the fixes automatically.

Previously, Adobe has released updates to its Flash plugin alongside Microsoft's security patches, but the US software company has so far remained quiet over any forthcoming security fixes of its own.