Surprise! May's Microsoft Patch Tuesday Fixes IE Zero-Day

Next week's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft's monthly security update, will feature 10 patches, two of which are critical, including one that permanently fixes a recently discovered Internet Explorer 8 bug used to target nuclear researchers.

Both critical patches fix vulnerabilities in Windows and Internet Explorer 8 that could be leveraged by attackers to remotely launch malicious code.

The other eight patches, according to Microsoft's security bulletin, fix an information-disclosure problem in Microsoft Office and the freeware package Windows Essentials; a remote code-execution bug and privilege-elevation flaw in Windows; and flaws in the Lync video-conferencing system and the .NET framework.

The Internet Explorer 8 zero-day exploit, which was not known to Microsoft or to the computer-security industry before it was used by hackers to target U.S. federal atomic researchers, was given a stopgap fix earlier this week because of its use in targeted attacks against employees in Western aerospace, security and defense industries.

The zero-day exploit — an exploit of a computer-security flaw against which no protection was available at the time of disclosure — was only revealed to Microsoft last week. Fixing such issues usually takes several weeks.

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The other critical bulletin addresses other Internet Explorer issues exposed during the Pwn2Own hacking contest in Vancouver, British Columbia, in March.

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As it has done for several months, Adobe will release its own set of patches in conjunction with Microsoft's updates.

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

This month's Adobe bulletin fixes a zero-day exploit for ColdFusion that may have been involved in the theft of hundreds of thousands of driver's-license records and Social Security numbers from the court systems of Washington state.

Windows users should set Windows Update in the Control Panel so that security updates are automatically downloaded and installed. Adobe patches usually need to be installed manually.

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