Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters Microsoft has issued six security updates, fixing critical bugs in Windows components ranging from Internet Explorer to the Microsoft NetWare client service.The updates were released Tuesday morning local time as part of Microsoft’s monthly cycle of security patches. Five of this month’s updates are rated critical by Microsoft, meaning that these bugs could be exploited by attackers to run unauthorized software on a system without user action. Microsoft rates the sixth update, which fixes the NetWare flaw, as “important.”The updates also fix Microsoft’s XML parser, the Windows Workstation service, the Microsoft Agent and the Macromedia Flash Player that is distributed with the operating system. According to Symantec, the most critical of the updates is the Workstation service patch. “This issue can be exploited by remote anonymous attackers on Windows 2000, Windows XP and possibly Windows Server 2003 systems,” Symantec said in a statement. “A wide variety of component technologies and services are impacted by this issue which has potential for a worm-style attack.” The Internet Explorer update is important, because unlike many of the other services being patched this month, Internet Explorer (IE) can easily be targeted by attack code placed on a website, said Roger Thompson, cofounder and chief technology officer with Exploit Prevention Labs. “I think IE is always the most critical,” he said via instant message.Because hackers have posted attack code that exploits a hole in the XML parser, the XML update is also noteworthy, he said. Symantec also flagged the XML update. “All supported versions of Internet Explorer (including the new Internet Explorer 7.0) make use of this functionality and are susceptible to possible attack,” the company said. “This is a publicly known vulnerability that is currently being exploited in the wild.”November’s update is the last for users of Microsoft’s Software Update Services (SUS), which will no longer be supported as of Dec. 6. Microsoft is advising SUS users to upgrade to Windows Server Update Services 2.0 before the next security update, scheduled for Dec. 12.-Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) Related content brandpost Sponsored by G42 Understanding the impact of AI on society, environment and economy By Jane Chan Dec 03, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe