Microsoft has released their advanced notification for the May 2011 edition of Patch Tuesday.  This Patch Tuesday marks a "light" Patch Tuesday as expected.  Microsoft's release cadence for security bulletins are typically heavy months followed by light months.  With this month’s release, administrators can take a big sigh of relief after a record-breaking April Patch Tuesday.  In April, Microsoft released 17 bulletins addressing 64 vulnerabilities.  Both numbers were a record for a single Microsoft release.

For the May 2011 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft is planning to release 2 security bulletins addressing 3 vulnerabilities.

Security Bulletin Breakdown:

  • 2 Security Bulletins
  • 1 Security Bulletin rated Critical
  • 1 Security Bulletin rated Important
  • Both Security Bulletins fix vulnerabilities that can lead to Remote Code Execution

Affected Products:

  • 1 bulletin affects the Windows OS (only Windows server based products)
  • Windows 2003, 2008, 2008 R2
  • 1 bulletin affects the Microsoft Office product
  • PowerPoint XP, 2003, 2007
  • Office Compatibility Pack

Take advantage of this lighter Patch Tuesday to catch up with the massive patch day last month and all of the other 3rd party security releases since then.

  • Adobe Flash Player
  • Adobe Air
  • Apple iTunes
  • Apple Safari

- Jason Miller