Updated: July 11, 2020 (December 19, 2005)

Dec. 2005 Security Updates

Michael analyzed and wrote about Microsoft's operating systems, including the Windows client OS, as well as compliance and governance. Michael... more

Dec. 2005’s “Patch Tuesday” included a critical patch for a vulnerability in Windows and Internet Explorer (IE) for which a public exploit is already circulating and an important patch for Windows 2000 SP4. The latest security updates also address problems with the First4Internet copy-protection software distributed on some Sony-BMG audio CDs, which altered Windows to prevent the software from being detected and could be used by malicious software to evade detection.

A Critical and Important Patch

The cumulative critical patch for Windows and IE released in Dec. 2005 fixed a number of vulnerabilities in Windows, including the following:

A flaw in how IE displays file download dialog boxes and accepts user input during interaction with a Web page
IE behavior when using a Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS) proxy server and Basic authentication, which could allow an attacker to read Web addresses in clear text
IE instantiation of COM objects that are not

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