Microsoft readies record 14 fixes, eight critical

 Microsoft on Thursday announced that next week it plans to deliver a record 14 patches to resolve 34 vulnerabilities across its product line.

The 34 flaws expected to be fixed, which ties a record with the number of holes plugged in June's update, reside in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, SQL Server and Silverlight, according to the advance notification. Eight of the 14 bulletins earned a "critical" rating, while the others are designated as "important."

Of the critical bulletins, seven impact Windows. Joshua Abraham, a security researcher at Rapid7, which provides vulnerability management and penetration testing services, said he'd expect a few working exploits to come out of the security update, launching attacks such as drive-by downloads.

Abraham added that administrators should not necessarily be concerned by the high number of vulnerabilities receiving updates. He said this is not uncommon following security conferences such as Black Hat and DEFCON.
"In the past, there has been a rather high volume around the summer months," Abraham told SCMagazineUS.com on Thursday. "It's something we've seen before. It doesn't really shock me."

August's update appears to match a recent trend in which a light month of bulletins precedes a busier month.

Administrators should review Microsoft's advisories and use its exploit grades to determine which patches deserve priority, Abraham said.