Updated Microsoft plans to release seven patches next Tuesday as part of its regular Patch Tuesday update cycle.

The update will feature two patches for Windows, at least one of which earns the dread rating of critical and three patches for Microsoft Office, at least one of which is critical. Critical updates for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft CAPICOM and BizTalk are also promised.

Most notably Tuesday is due to bring relief from an unpatched vulnerability in Windows DNS Server that has become the focus of hacker attacks over the last two weeks. As explained in a post on Microsoft's Security Response blog, Redmond hasn't "seen any new information around attacks against the issue" but will thankfully fix the problem anyway. ®

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