Microsoft to sew up 11 security vulnerabilities next week

Microsoft is readying six patches for 11 vulnerabilities as part of its April security update, scheduled for release on Tuesday.

Four of the six fixes earned the software giant's highest severity rating of "critical" and address flaws in Windows; Internet Explorer -- including version 9; Office; SQL Server; and server software and developer tools, according to this month's advance notification. Three of critical patches plug holes for Windows 7, Microsoft latest platform release.

The remaining two patches, deemed "important," fix holes in the Forefront United Access Gateway product, as well as Office.

They all are scheduled for release at about 1 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

Also on Thursday, Adobe, as expected, announced plans to fix security flaws in its Reader and Acrobat software. The scheduled, quarterly update is due to arrive on Tuesday, to coincide with Microsoft's patch batch.