Microsoft fixes 36 flaws in IE, Edge, Office, Windows, .NET

From PC World: Microsoft released its second batch of security updates for this year, addressing a total of 36 flaws in Internet Explorer, Edge, Office, Windows and .NET Framework.

The patches are covered in 12 security bulletins, five of which are rated critical. There is also a thirteenth bulletin, also critical, for Flash Player. Although it’s maintained by Adobe, Flash Player is included with Internet Explorer 11 and Edge, so Microsoft is distributing Adobe’s patches through Windows Update.

Researchers from security vendor Qualys believe that MS16-022, the Flash Player bulletin, should be at the top of users’ priority list this month because it contains fixes for 22 critical vulnerabilities that could give attackers complete control over computers. Flash Player is a frequent target for attackers and can be exploited by simply visiting a malicious or compromised website.

Next on Qualys’ list is MS16-015, which covers patches for seven vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word, Excel and Sharepoint. Three of these vulnerabilities stem from the handling of the RTF file format and can be exploited without user interaction by displaying specially crafted files in the Outlook preview pane.

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