Exchange, Windows Fixes on Tap

Microsoft will issue three patches as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday next week, of which at least two have been rated "critical," the company said. It is likely that these patches would fix various code execution flaws.

Two of the patches will be for Windows issues, and the third will be for a flaw in Microsoft's Exchange product. It is believed that one of the Windows fixes could be yet another cumulative security patch for Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

Since the company's last cumulative patch just last month, numerous new vulnerabilities have arisen. Both Secunia and eEye Digital Security list several flaws in IE severe enough to pose a system compromise risk.

Microsoft said that any of the three vulnerabilities may require a restart. The Exchange fix will also repair issues in sending e-mail messages from a mobile device, or from a shared mailbox in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003 as described in a recent Knowledge Base article.

The company also plans to issue an update to the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, as well as two non-security high-priority updates through Microsoft Update.

"As part of the monthly security bulletin release cycle, Microsoft provides advance notification to our customers on the number of new security updates being released, the products affected, the aggregate maximum severity and information about detection tools relevant to the update," Microsoft said in its advisory.

MySQL Patches Security Flaws

Open source database company MySQL issued a security update to address flaws in its product that could open up users to attack. Rated a "moderate risk" vulnerability by FrSIRT, one of the flaws involves a buffer overflow that could allow for code execution, while the other two involve a validation error, and could expose information within system memory.

The issue affects MySQL versions 4.0.26, 4.1.18. 5.0.20 and 5.1.9, as well as prior versions of those major releases. The most recent version, MySQL 5.0, was released last fall and has seen quick adoption among users of the open source database software.

ATI, Nokia Pen Multimedia Deal

Nokia and ATI said Thursday that they had formed a strategic relationship that aims to enhance the multimedia experience on Nokia cellular phones. The two would work together on music and video playback, as well as 3D gaming and mobile TV.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although ATI expected to see "opportunities" in late 2007. The company was confident that it would be "very, very significant financially," ATI executives said in a conference call.

ATI will create an SDK for developers in the fall, as well as jointly hold workshops with Nokia during the second half of the year to help explain how to use the new development environment. Additionally, the group would promote the use of open standards.

"With a shared vision of how multimedia impacts the mobile market, Nokia and ATI are providing much needed direction and a framework to move the whole industry forward," handheld products vice president and general manager Paul Dal Santo said.

Nokia said it was announcing the partnership now so that developers could have the next year to year-and-a-half to develop for the platform. The timeframe seems to indicate that the two companies would have some kind of compatible product by then.

"With the mobile device now at the center of people's lives, we want people to have access to fantastic mobile content when and where they want," Nokia senior vice president of multimedia Ilkka Raiskinen remarked.