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Only 2 Fixes Expected on Patch Tuesday

IT pros can expect one of the lightest Patch Tuesdays in recent memory this month as Redmond indicated there would only be two patches -- one critical, one important.

IT pros can expect one of the lightest Patch Tuesdays in recent memory this month as Redmond indicated there would only be two patches -- one critical, one important.

Both fixes in this thin November slate are related to remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities and are fixes for Windows programs.

The critical item affects Windows and Microsoft Office. Per Redmond's advance notice, it deals specifically with Windows Extensible Markup Language (XML) Core Services, versions 3.0, 4.0 and 6.0. XML programs are used for creating Web languages and help systems share structured data and encode documents over the Internet. This is particularly important for users of SharePoint Server. The applicable operating systems for this patch are Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows XP, Vista and Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

The important item in this release is a general Windows patch that also affects Windows 2000 SP4, XP, Vista and Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

Both updates will require restarts.

Those interested in scanning items pertaining to general updates and other non-security content can look at this Knowledge Base article for a description of such updates on Microsoft Update, Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services.

About the Author

Jabulani Leffall is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Financial Times of London, Investor's Business Daily, The Economist and CFO Magazine, among others.

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