Microsoft is planning to issue twelve security bulletins during this Tuesday monthly patch release, including a pair of fixes for vulnerabilities in Office that the company deemed "critical."
Office has been hit especially hard with new attacks in recent weeks, with five flaws currently unpatched. Exploits for vulnerabilities in Excel and Word have been used to install malware on users' systems, raising concern among security experts.
The other three "critical" bulletins will provide a fix for vulnerabilities in Windows and Microsoft Data Access Components, as well as a fix for either Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft Anitgen, Windows Defender or Microsoft ForeFront.
The company did not provide specific information on what specific vulnerabilities or version of the software would be targeted by the bulletins. Each security bulletin can contain one or more fixes for security flaws in one application or software component.
Non-critical fixes for security flaws in Office, Visual Studio, and Step-By-Step Interactive Training will comprise the remainder of the planned security bulletins. All three have a maximum security rating of "Important".
Along with the twelve security bulletins, patch Tuesday will bring non-security updates for the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool and several of Microsoft's software update applications.
