Last updated at Thu, 31 Aug 2017 13:55:29 GMT

April continues a long-running trend with Microsoft where the majority of bulletins (9) address remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities; the remaining address elevation of privilege (2), security feature bypass and denial of service (DOS). All critical bulletins are remote code execution issues affecting a variety of products and platforms including Adobe Flash Player, Edge, Internet Explorer, .NET Framework, Office, Office Services and Web Apps, Skype for Business, Lync and Windows (client and server). '

Looking back at the last 12 months of security bulletins, a resounding trend emerges: the majority of these bulletins address remote code execution vulnerabilities. Microsoft is unable to permanently address these vulnerabilities, which predominantly affect consumer applications such as Edge, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office and .NET. Unfortunately, this leads to one of the single largest attack vectors, consumers/end-users. Fortunately, Microsoft actively works on resolving these issues as witnessed in the overwhelming number of critical RCE bulletins.

This month Microsoft resolves 29 vulnerabilities across 13 bulletins with MS16-037, MS16-038, MS16-039 and MS16-042 as the bulletins to watch out for, addressing 19 vulnerabilities. Users should pay particular attention to MS16-039 - Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component as this bulletin resolves two vulnerabilities that have been known to be exploited (CVE-2016-0165 and CVE-2016-0167). Microsoft has also provided a resolution to the Named vulnerability Badlock (CVE-2016-2118), addressed by Microsoft in MS16-047 - Security Update for SAM and LSAD Remote Protocols. Since a wide range of products are affected this month, all Microsoft users should be on alert.

Users should be wary of untrusted sources as maliciously crafted content could allow an attacker to remotely execute code in-order to gain the same rights as your user account. Your best protection against these threats is to patch as quickly as possible. Administrators, be sure to review this month's bulletins and in accordance with your specific configuration, prioritize your deployment of this months' updates. At a minimum, ensure to patch systems affected by critical bulletins.

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