November 2012 Patch Tuesday Preview

November’s Patch Tuesday is the first security update from Microsoft after the release of Windows 8. In this release, Microsoft will patch three critical issues for Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2010, 2008 and 2003. Two of the critical updates patch the newly released Windows 8 RT, which is used by the recently released Microsoft Surface tablet. In addition, there will be one critical update that will affect Internet Explorer on Windows 7, Vista and 2008. We also recommend closely monitoring the "Important" Excel update as it affects Excel 2010, 2007 and 2003.

There are two other significant software updates that IT administrators need to be aware of and should address with Microsoft updates next week. Adobe released a new version of its Flash player that addresses seven vulnerabilities. Adobe rates them as "critical" and assigns the patch an overall urgency rating of "1", indicating that patching should be performed within one week. Apple released version 7.7.3 of its Quicktime player for Windows, which addresses nine vulnerabilities. They are all rated critical and should be addressed as quickly as possible.

There is also information about a new 0-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader X that is being traded in the parallel market. We will keep you updated on this blog as more information comes out.