No patches from Microsoft this coming Patch Tuesday

No patches from Microsoft this coming Patch Tuesday

System administrators around the world would have a peaceful next week as the software giant Microsoft has announced that they have no plans to release any patches this coming Tuesday.

Microsoft releases their patches on the second Tuesday of a month and the day is usually described as Patch Tuesday.

This would be the first instance since September 2005 that the company is not issuing any updates in a month. A Microsoft spokesman said in a released statement on this decision: “There are many factors that impact the length of time between the discovery of a vulnerability and the release of a security update, and every vulnerability presents its own unique challenges. Microsoft continues to investigate potential and existing vulnerabilities in an effort to help protect our customers. Creating security updates that effectively and comprehensively fix vulnerabilities is an extensive process involving a series of sequential steps. All updates need to meet testing standards in order to be released. This ensures that our customers can confidently install these updates in their environment.”

Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the SANS Institute and chief technology officer for the Internet Storm Center however said that it is surprising on Microsoft’s part as there are at least nine known vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Office and Explorer.

He said: “It’s kind of funny with all the outstanding bugs today, and they have nothing to offer. I would expect some help to come.”