Microsoft patches Windows Server and PowerPoint, but makes Mac Office users wait for protection

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 11:32

Business IT - Security

Along with a critical security update for Windows Server, Microsoft has patched the Windows version of PowerPoint to overcome an important vulnerability. But where's the update for the same issue in PowerPoint for Mac?

In a quiet month for system administrators, Microsoft issued just two security bulletins on May's Patch Tuesday.

The first, rated critical, resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). A maliciously crafted WINS packet could trigger remote code execution.

WINS is not installed by default, and the issue only affects Windows Server 2003 and 2008 (including R2). It will only be offered to those operating systems by Windows Update if WINS has been installed.

The second issue is a pair of vulnerabilities that allow a maliciously crafted PowerPoint file to trigger remote code execution. It is only rated important as it is necessary for a user to open the file, and an exploit only gains the same rights as that user.

Affected versions are PowerPoint 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. Related software - Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 2; and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac - also contain the vulnerability.

There's more on May's Patch Tuesday updates on page 2.