Microsoft’s October Patch Tuesday was the largest in the history of the tech company. The monthly patch moment, which takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, fixed more than 1400 security vulnerabilities across Microsoft’s software products. Now it turns out the real number is even higher.
Microsoft initially reported that it had patched 1413 vulnerabilities, including 134 in Microsoft Office. The company has now adjusted the total to 1453 and the number of Office flaws to 164, because it forgot to disclose dozens of vulnerabilities. Updates for these flaws were released on Patch Tuesday itself.
The unreported issues include thirty vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office that can lead to remote code execution or information theft. Those are serious consequences, and flaws like these are exactly why timely patching matters for every organisation running Office.
Microsoft stresses that users who have already installed the October updates do not need to take any extra action. The company has not said how the vulnerabilities came to be left out of the initial report.
For you, the lesson is practical. Check that the October updates are installed on all systems, and do not rely solely on the headline numbers in a release overview. Keep your patch management and vulnerability tracking in order, so you can see what has actually been fixed.
Read msrc.microsoft.com article for more information.
