Networking problems today kept Microsoft from distributing its latest security patches to users of its automatic update services.
The updates, released at about 11 a.m. Pacific time, fix a whopping 26 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, and the .Net framework. Many of the flaws involved are considered critical, but the fixes were still unavailable 4 hours later via many of Microsoft's most popular update services. Late in the day, the problem was corrected.
The trouble arose because of "some network issues on the Microsoft Update platform," according to Microsoft's Craig Gehere, who wrote about the issue in a blog posting. The security updates were not available to users of Microsoft Update, Automatic Updates, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and Windows Update, version 6, Gehere said. Later in the day, Gehere updated his blog to say that the problem had been fixed.
Microsoft Update users, for example, who tried to use the service to check for high-priority updates were told, "The website has encountered a problem and cannot display the page you are trying to view."
Some Unaffected
Users of Software Update Services (SUS), Windows Update version 4, and Office Update were unaffected by the glitch, Gehere said.
"Technical teams are engaged and have been working around the clock to resolve this problem," he wrote.
A spokesperson with Microsoft's public relations firm could not say exactly what had caused the update services to fail.
The snafu comes at a difficult time for Microsoft users. The latest security updates address the largest number of vulnerabilities in recent memory, and hackers are already known to be exploiting three of the bugs. Over the past few weeks, observers have spotted attack code that exploits critical flaws in the Windows operating system, Word, and PowerPoint, all of which were patched Tuesday.
Customers who want to download their updates manually can go to Microsoft's Security Bulletin pages and find the links in the 10 bulletins that Microsoft has issued.
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