Microsoft pulls four planned patches

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Microsoft has pulled four bulletins from its announced list of Patch Tuesday fixes, but did not specify why it was backpedaling on the security releases. It now plans to issue four security bulletins on Tuesday, rather than the eight originally announced, the software giant said Friday in an updated notice on its Web site.

Three bulletins will contain fixes for Office, at least one of which will be rated "critical," Microsoft said. Critical vulnerabilities typically can allow a worm to spread or allow a Windows system to be fully compromised with minor or no interaction from the person using it. The fourth bulletin, for Windows, is also tagged critical.

On Thursday, Microsoft listed eight bulletins it intended to issue next week in its monthly patch cycle. It appears to have pulled two bulletins for Windows, one for Visual Studio and one for Office. These patches will now likely be released on a future Patch Tuesday.

The company sometimes deviates from the Patch Tuesday advance notification. Last month, for example, it issued one more security bulletin than it had said it would. It has also dropped bulletins, citing quality issues. However, it has never before pulled four bulletins.

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