Microsoft Patches Break Some Sites

Two patches released by Microsoft earlier this year for its Internet Explorer browser may cause some Web sites not to load properly.

The bulletins, MS05-038 and MS05-052, removed "unsafe functionality" and change how the browser handles ActiveX controls for security reasons, Stephen Toulouse, a program manager in Microsoft's security unit, wrote on Thursday on the Microsoft Security Center Response Blog.

After installing MS05-038, which was published August 9 on the Microsoft Download Center, Web pages containing Component Object Model (COM) objects called monikers may not work as expected.

Patch Particulars

MS05-052, which was published October 11, added an additional check for a specific interface for ActiveX controls before allowing a COM object to run in Internet Explorer. But it also blocks some Web pages containing ActiveX controls, Microsoft said. Users who are missing certain registry subkeys may also experience problems with this patch, Microsoft said.

Microsoft has published instructions on how to resolve the MS05-038 issues.

Also available is additional information on the two possible problems with MS05-052.