Eight Microsoft fixes planned for Patch Tuesday

Microsoft on Tuesday plans to release eight patches -- six for "critical" vulnerabilities -- as part of its monthly security update.

Microsoft said in its advance notification that those six patches resolve issues Windows, Internet Explorer, Visual Basic, Word and Excel. The fixes that are designated critical are the most urgent, as the flaws they correct can be exploited to execute remote code

Two bulletins, designated "important," address bugs in SharePoint and Windows Media Center.

Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista and Server 2008 are impacted by at least some of the vulnerabilities, as are Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7.

Microsoft, as usual, also plans to release high-priority, non-security updates for Windows Update, Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services on Tuesday.

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