December 8, 2009: Microsoft has released their December 2009 Security Bulletins. A total of 6 bulletins have been released. Affected components include Microsoft Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, and IAS. Three of the six bulletins are rated as 'Critical' and carry a potential impact of remote code execution.
Critical
Systems worldwide are targeted by a worm.
New malware that potentially can cause damage has been reported and has spread globally.
Severe
An unpatched or recently patched vulnerability can be exploited by a worm, and systems worldwide are at risk to be targeted by a particular worm. No worm activity has been identified.
A high incidence of new malware that potentially can cause damage has been reported.
Elevated
An unpatched or recently patched vulnerability is present on many systems worldwide but requires user interaction to be exploited.
An existing vulnerability becomes more serious because new exploit code has been published.
There is new malware activity, but it is not widespread.
Low
There is no direct threat to systems that have been patched.
No new significant malware activity has been reported.