In its monthly heads up for IT administrators, Microsoft has announced a light Patch Tuesday for May 8. Next week’s security bulletins will only offer two critical updates for Microsoft products.
With two bulletins, May is a sigh of relief compared to April’s updates. Microsoft issued 11 security updates to fix 35 flaws last month. And with 13 bulletins, February tied Microsoft’s record for the most bulletins released in a single month.
April’s update also included nine “critical” fixes. Microsoft’s April update came on top of security fixes for Adobe and Oracle. By way of comparison, IT admins can breathe easy in May.
In May’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft will address vulnerabilities in Windows and Office. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 customers will be offered the Windows related update but are not vulnerable in their default configurations, according to Jerry Bryant, group manager for Microsoft’s Security Response Communications.
“Concerning the recent Security Advisory for SharePoint, 983438, we will not be releasing an update for that with the May bulletins,” Bryant said. “Our teams are still working on an update for that issue. In the meantime, we recommend customers review the advisory and apply the workarounds.”
Bryant also reminded IT admins that support for Windows 2000 and Windows XP SP2 will end after July 13, 2010. He recommends customers upgrade to either a supported operating system or the latest service pack in order to keep receiving security updates.
Microsoft recommends customers prepare for the testing and deployment of both bulletins as soon as possible. Microsoft expects that the patch for Windows will require a restart, and warned that the Office patch may potentially require one as well. The company will hold a webcast next week to offer more in-depth details about the bulletins and answer questions live.
As Bryant mentioned,…