Surprise patch party as Adobe, Microsoft issue fixes

Adobe on Monday delivered a surprise batch of patches to correct 25 critical vulnerabilities in its flagship Flash technology.

None of the flaws were exploited in the wild, but Adobe suggested Windows users running Flash should be the first to act on the update.

Flash for Windows and Mac users should upgrade to version 11.4.402.287; Flash for Linux users should update to version 11.2.202.243; and users of Flash for Android should either install version 11.1.115.20 or 11.1.111.19, depending on the version of the mobile operating system that they are running.

For users of Flash installed on Chrome, no action would be necessary as Google would update them with the latest version of the popular software.

Meanwhile, Microsoft on Monday released corresponding patches for the 25 vulnerabilities, according to an advisory.

The update addresses Flash in Internet Explorer (IE) 10, running on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Microsoft was required to deliver these fixes in addition to Adobe because Flash is bundled in IE 10 and is not installed by users as a separate plug-in.

Windows 8 is due out later this month.

It's unclear why Adobe issued the patches when they did -- one day before Microsoft's scheduled Patch Tuesday updates -- but according to reports, it might be due to the Pwnium bug-finding competition.

This article originally appeared at scmagazineus.com