1,413 fixes in one Patch Tuesday
Microsoft’s October update fixes a record number of vulnerabilities, including an exploited Windows Shell bug. Start with that one.
Yesterday Microsoft released fixes for 1,413 vulnerabilities, its largest Patch Tuesday ever and the fourth record month in a row. Most are in Windows components, with more than a hundred in Office and smaller numbers in SharePoint, SQL Server, Exchange and Azure. Part of the jump comes from AI-assisted bug finding, at Microsoft and outside.
One matters most this week: a Windows Shell vulnerability rated 8.8 that Microsoft says is already being exploited.
How to approach a month this big:
- Install the cumulative update on workstations through your normal rings, but shorten the wait because of the exploited bug.
- Patch internet-facing Exchange and SharePoint servers next.
- Then the rest of the servers, domain controllers first.
- Don’t try to read all 1,413 entries. Read the exploited and critical ones, and the ones for products you actually expose.
Cumulative updates mean one install covers most of the list. The size is scary. The work isn’t much bigger than usual.