Microsoft December patch release to include one critical update

IDG News Service - Microsoft Corp. is planning two software security fixes -- at least one of them rated critical -- as part of December's release of security updates due out on Tuesday.
Both patches are for the Windows operating system, according to information on Microsoft's Web site. A critical rating for a bug means that a worm could take advantage of it without the user taking any action.
The patches, called "updates" by Microsoft, will come as part of the company's regular monthly patch release cycle. Microsoft releases most software patches on the second Tuesday of each month, a date that has come to be known as Patch Tuesday by security professionals.
Microsoft also will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the company's Download Center Web site. The tool will not be distributed using Software Update Services, however. The company will also release two nonsecurity, high-priority patches on Windows Update and Software Update Services, and three nonsecurity, high-priority patches on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services.
In November, Microsoft released one software patch that addressed three critical security vulnerabilities in the way that Windows processes Windows Metafile, a graphics format used by some computer-aided design applications.