Microsoft cancels Patch Tuesday in March
Users of Windows should not be surprised if they do not receive any security updates next Tuesday. There will not be any as Microsoft has cancelled its Patch Tuesday in March. As a result, the two critical holes in Word and Publisher 2007 remain open. While Microsoft has announced that it is working on an update for the hole in Word, the software vendor has apparently not managed to finish the patches in time.
Attackers can get control of a computer by sending manipulated documents through the hole, which was revealed in mid-February. Microsoft has itself admitted that such attacks have already taken place. No additional information has been provided about the hole in Publisher 2007, which security service provider eEye reported to the software vendor at the end of February.
According to a preliminary report, the only thing that will be provided next Tuesday, March 13, is an update for the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, which removes contaminants from PCs. Finally, Microsoft has yet to correct a typo in its announcement e-mails, which incorrectly speak of "Advanced Notification", which should read "Advance Notification" as on the web site.
- Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification, Microsoft's announcement
(ehe)