It's not a Patch Tuesday but that's not stopping Microsoft from rolling out a critical patch today (Thursday 23rd).

It must be something pretty serious for Microsoft to release an "out-of-band" - the last time I remember this being done was April '07.

Microsoft is planning to release the Windows patch at 10:00 PT.

The patch is rated as CRITICAL for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and IMPORTANT for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

More details when it's released.

UPDATE ... UPDATE ... UPDATE ...

The patch is out.

Here's the info on it:

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Server service. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. On Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability without authentication to run arbitrary code. It is possible that this vulnerability could be used in the crafting of a wormable exploit. Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect network resources from attacks that originate outside the enterprise perimeter.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and rated Important for all supported editions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 13:15 and is filed under Patch Tuesday, Stay Secure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.